Bune Law - What is the Employment Standards Act

The Employment Standards Act (ESA) is the law that establishes important legal rights for most employees in Ontario. It says that employees are entitled to “minimum” work standards that their employers have to satisfy, including:

Minimum Wage: most workers must be paid at least the “general” minimum wage of $14 per hour. But there are different minimum wages for students, liquor servers and homeworkers. The minimum wage rates apply to all employees, regardless of whether they are full-time or part-time.

Job Loss: in most cases, employees who have worked continuously for 3 months must receive prior notice in writing and/or termination pay before they lose their job. The amount of notice depends on how long they worked for the employer. Also, while an employer does not need a specific reason to fire an employee, they cannot do so for an unlawful reason, such as an employee asking about their Employment Standards rights, or because they refused to work in an unsafe work environment. This could be considered “reprisal” (retaliation), and it is illegal.

Payday: employees must have a regular pay-period and payday, and must be receive a “pay stub” showing gross/net wages; pay period and wage rate; and all deductions (EI, income taxes and CPP).

Vacation Pay: employees working for a company for 5 or more years of service are entitled to a minimum of 3 weeks of vacation time and 6% vacation pay. All other employees with less than 5 years’ service are entitled to 2 weeks and 4% vacation pay.

Tips and Gratuities: Employees are entitled to any tips and gratuities they earn on the job. Also, employers cannot make any deductions from employees’ tips for things like spillage, breakage, losses or damage, unless the employee agrees, or it is required by law.

Personal Emergency Leave: some employees are entitled up to 10 sick days, the first 2 of which must be paid. Employers are not allowed to ask for a doctor’s sick note.

Pregnancy Leave / Parental Leave: Pregnant employees have the right to take pregnancy leave of up to 17 weeks of unpaid time off work plus 61 weeks of parental leave; otherwise, all new parents are entitled up to 63 weeks if they do not take a pregnancy leave.

Rest and Eating Periods: employees are entitled to at least 8 hours of “rest between shifts,” and a 30-minute unpaid “meal break” after working 5 hours in a row.

Public Holidays: there are 9 public holidays each year in Ontario, and employees generally have the right to take each day off work and be paid “public holiday pay”. This right begins as soon as an employee starts their job.

Overtime Pay: employees must be paid “time-and-a-half” (1.5 times their hourly rate) for each hour they work beyond 44 per week. However, there are some employees that may not be entitled to overtime pay (unless their employer agrees), including managers, supervisors, engineers and architects.

Foreign Workers: employees in Ontario do not need to be Canadian citizens or permanent residents to receive these minimum employment standards.

It is important to remember that these are only “minimum standards,” and some employees may actually have greater rights under an employment contract or common law. Also, the ESA does not apply to specific employees in Ontario who work for federally-regulated employers, like banks, airlines and radio/television stations.

If you are an employee or an employer in Ontario who would like to find out more about your rights and obligations at work (including the upcoming changes to the law), we can help. Contact us today.

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