Your Guide to The Employment Standards Act

This guide is a hassle-free source of info about crucial areas of the ESA. It is for your details and help just. It is not a legal file. If you need details or exact language, please describe the ESA itself and its policies.

This guide should not be used as or thought about legal suggestions. You might have higher rights under an employment agreement, cumulative arrangement, the common law or other legislation. If you're unsure about anything in this guide, please talk to a legal representative.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These include:

advantage strategies

bereavement leave

child death leave

crime-related child disappearance leave

vital illness leave

stated emergency leave

domestic or sexual violence leave

the work requirements poster: circulation requirements

equivalent spend for equivalent work

household caretaker leave

family medical leave

family responsibility leave

suing

hours of work, consuming periods and rest durations

infectious illness emergency situation leave

licensing - short-lived help agencies and recruiters

lie detector tests

base pay

non-compete arrangements

organ donor leave

overtime pay

payment of incomes

pregnancy and adult leave

public holidays

reservist leave

severance of work

sick leave

short-term assistance agencies

termination of employment and momentary layoffs

suggestions or gratuities

holiday.

written policy on detaching from work.

composed policy on electronic tracking of staff members.


Reprisals are restricted

Employers are restricted from penalizing workers in any way due to the fact that the employee exercised ESA rights.

Clients of temporary help agencies are forbidden from penalizing assignment staff members in any way due to the fact that the project staff member worked out ESA rights.

Recruiters are forbidden from punishing potential workers who engage or utilize the recruiter's services in any way for certain reasons, including asking the recruiter to comply with the Act or investigating about whether a person holds a licence as required by the ESA.

Employers, clients of short-lived aid companies and employment employers who dedicate a reprisal can be:

- ordered to compensate the staff member, task staff member or potential employee.

- bought to reinstate the employee or project employee (if the reprisal was committed by a company or client of a short-term assistance firm).

- purchased to pay a penalty.

- prosecuted.


Learn more about reprisals.

Greater right or benefit

If an arrangement in a work agreement or another Act offers a worker a higher right or advantage than a minimum employment requirement under the ESA then that provision applies to the staff member instead of the employment requirement.

No waiving of rights

No employee can concur to waive or quit their rights under the ESA (for example, the right to receive overtime pay or public vacation pay). Any such agreement is null and employment void.

Enforcement and compliance

Violations of the ESA can result in enforcement action.

The kind of enforcement action that can be taken depends on which provision of the ESA was contravened. Examples include:

- an order to pay.

- a compliance order.

- a ticket.

- a notice of conflict with a monetary charge.

- an order to restore and/or compensate.

- prosecution.


Other workplace-related laws

The ESA includes only a few of the guidelines affecting work in Ontario. Other provincial and federal legislation governs problems such as workplace health and wellness, human rights and labour relations.

Related Ontario laws consist of the:

and Safety Act.

Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997.

Labour Relations Act, 1995.

Pay Equity Act.

Human Rights Code.


To learn more about other Ontario laws, contact ServiceOntario:

- Tel: 416-326-1234 (in Toronto).

- Toll-free: 1-800-267-8097 (in the rest of Ontario).

- online at ServiceOntario.ca.


Federal laws affecting offices include statutes on income tax, work insurance coverage and the Canada Pension.

To find out more about federal laws, call the Government of Canada info line at 1-800-622-6232.

Who is not covered by the ESA?

Most employees and companies in Ontario are covered by the ESA. However, the ESA does not apply to some people and the individuals or organizations they work for, such as:

- staff members and companies in sectors that fall under federal work law jurisdiction, such as airline companies, employment banks, the federal civil service, post offices, radio and television stations and inter-provincial railways.

- individuals working under a program authorized by a college of used arts and technology or university.

- individuals working under a program that is authorized by a profession college signed up under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005.

- secondary school students who work under a work experience program authorized by the school board that operates the school in which the trainee is enrolled.

- people who do community participation under the Ontario Works Act, 1997.

- law enforcement officer (other than for the lie detectors arrangements of the ESA, which do apply).

- prisoners taking part in work or rehab programs, or people who work as part of a sentence or order of a court.

- individuals who hold political, judicial, spiritual or elected trade union workplaces.

- major junior ice hockey players who meet particular conditions associated with scholarships.

- people who meet the meaning of service specialist or information innovation consultant under the ESA if specific conditions are fulfilled.


For a complete listing of other people not governed by the ESA, employment please inspect the ESA and its guidelines.

Employee misclassification

Employers are prohibited from misclassifying workers as independent specialists, interns, volunteers or any other kind of employee not covered by the ESA.

Find out more about worker misclassification.

Additional resources

In addition to this guide, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD) has extra resources available to help you:

- The Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual is the main recommendation source for the policies of the Director of Employment Standards respecting the analysis, administration and enforcement of the ESA.

- Staff at the Employment Standards Information Centre are available to answer your concerns about the ESA. Information is available in numerous languages. You can reach the details centre from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.