In Ontario, all workers are guaranteed certain (minimum) rights at work protected by law. In this article, we cover few main areas of legal protection that all employees enjoy, including when it comes to employment terms and conditions and human rights.
Employment
Employment law in Ontario is a broad area made of many different parts, including under the Employment Standards Act and common law.
The Employment Standards Act protects most workers in Ontario by providing certain minimum rights and expectations that all companies must provide to their employees. (It does not apply to workers in federally-regulated industries, such as banks and transportation). Some of the basic protections employees in Ontario have under the Employment Standards Act include:
- the number of work hours
- the minimum wage employees must be paid
- if the employee is entitled to overtime pay (and how much)
- annual vacation weeks and vacation pay
- when an employee can be placed on a temporary layoff
- pregnancy and parental leave of absence from work
- notice of termination, or termination pay
- severance pay
However, many employees in Ontario have greater rights than the minimums guaranteed under the Employment Standards Act, including often under an employment contract they signed with their employer, or under common law. For instance, many employees are entitled to receive longer notice of termination (or a severance package) before their employment is terminated.
Human Rights in Ontario
Ontario’s Human Rights Code is a provincial law that provides everyone equal rights and opportunities without discrimination. In other words, it ensures that all people in Ontario are free from discrimination.
The goal of the Human Rights Code is prevent harassment and discrimination (differential treatment) simply because of a person’s:
- Age
- Disability
- Ancestry, colour, race
- Ethnic origin
- Place of origin
- Creed/Religion
- Family status
- Marital status
- Record of offences (in Employment only)
- Citizenship
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
In employment, this means employers must not treat any worker negatively compared with others because of one of the above reasons, including when it comes to hiring, firing, compensation, job promotions or interactions with colleagues in the workplace.
However, it must be kept in mind that not all unfair treatment and harassment will be considered discrimination covered by the Hunan Rights Code. The treatment or harassment must be based on at least one Human Rights Code ground and take place within one of the protected “social areas”:
- Accommodation (housing)
- Contracts
- Employment
- Goods, services and facilities
- Membership in unions, trade or professional associations.
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