Presentation that I used for management training on the Ontario Employment Standards Act (ESA). Provides an overview of regulations that apply to businesses in Ontario. Covers most Ontario employees with the exception of federal employees and a few others such as police officers, prison inmates, co-op students

1. HIGHLIGHTS of the
EMPLOYMENT
STANDARDS ACT -
ONTARIO (ESA)
CHANTAL BECHERVAISE

2. Objective
• To gain familiarity with the highlights of this Ontario legislation which
governs workplace practices
• To minimize legal risks by learning about this legislation which forms
the basis of our employment policies/contracts

3. Definition
• a statute (provincial law)
• establishes a minimum standard for every employment contract
• ensures fairness in workplace practices

4. Purpose of the Act
• To protect employees
• To eliminate the need to negotiate
• To ensure fairness in workplace practices

5. Jurisdiction
• Covers most Ontario employees with the exception of federal
employees and a few others such as police officers, prison
inmates, co-op students
• It must be posted in the workplace
• The Ministry of Labour enforces the ESA and its regulations, provides
information, investigates potential violations and resolves complaints

6. Topics Covered
• Record Keeping
• Hours ofWork
• Overtime
• Vacation
• Public Holidays
• Leaves: maternity, parental, emergency, family medical
• Termination Notice/Severance Pay

7. Record Keeping
• All employers in Ontario are required to keep written records about
each person they hire for a specified period of time

8. Hours of Work
• ESA dictates the maximum number of hours an employee can be
required to work
• In general, cannot exceed 8 hours per day OR more than 48 hours per
week
• Employers and employees can agree in writing to exceed these up to a
maximum of 60 hours per week

9. Hours of Work Cont’d
• ESA dictates the # of hours an employee must be free from work
(daily, between shifts/weekly or bi-weekly)
• Daily: must have 11 consecutive hours off work (Therefore, the max.
number of hours worked in any 24-hour period cannot exceed 13
which includes: 12 hours of work and two 30-minute meal breaks)
• Exception: not applicable to someone “called in” during a period they
would not normally work

10. Hours of Work Cont’d
• Between shifts: requirement of 8 hours off between shifts
• Exception: does not apply if total time worked on both shifts does not
exceed 13 hours (employer & employee can agree in writing for a
shorter period off between shifts)

11. Hours of Work Cont’d
• Weekly or Bi-weekly: employees must have a min. of 24 consecutive
hours off each week; OR
• 48 consecutive hours off every two weeks
• Exception: only in exceptional circumstances involving a “serious
interference” with operations

12. Overtime
• In general, hours worked in excess of 44 in a work week are to be paid
as overtime
• Overtime pay is 1.5 times the regular rate of pay (“time and a half”)
• Calculated on a weekly (not daily) basis or over a longer period under
an “averaging agreement” where an employer and employee agree in
writing to average the hours of work over a 4-week period to
determine overtime

13. Overtime Cont’d
• Compensation for overtime:
• Can be monetary: 1.5 x hourly rate; or
• Paid time off work (“time off in lieu”); 1.5 hours of paid time off work for
each hour worked
• Must be taken within 3 months of being earned, or within 12 months
with permission
• Employees cannot waive their right to overtime pay under the ESA

14. Vacation
• Vacation time off: 2 week yearly entitlement after 12 months of work
(unpaid)
• Can be taken one week at a time, or 2 weeks together, or, if the
employer and employee agree in writing, in periods of less than a
week
• 12 months include time away from work due to illness, layoff, and
other approved leaves
• Timing of vacation decided by the employer, but to be scheduled no
later than 10 months after the vacation has been earned (i.e. 22
months)

15. Vacation Cont’d
• Vacation Pay: minimum of 4% of “gross wages” (excluding vacation
pay) earned in a 12-month period for which vacation is received
• Can be paid at any time if employer and employee are in agreement
• Wages on which vacation pay is based include all compensation:
regular earnings, overtime pay, public holiday pay, pay in lieu of
notice, but NOT severance, travelling/living allowances and benefit
plan payments

16. Vacation Cont’d
• Vacation and public holidays: if a public holiday falls during a vacation
period, the entitlement is:
- a substitute day off work with public holiday pay, or
- payment of public holiday pay for that day without giving the
employee a substitute day off work (if the employee agrees)

17. Vacation Cont’
• Vacation entitlement accrues during pregnancy and parental leave
• Vacation pay may be NIL, as 4% of no earnings during a leave = $0
• If an employee quits or is terminated, the 4% vacation pay must be
paid out to them within 7 days

18. Public Holidays
• 9 statutory holidays: NewYears, Family Day, Good Friday,Victoria
Day, Canada Day, Labour Day,Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, Boxing
Day.
• The Mission exceeds this minimum by providing Civic Day instead of
Family Day and 1 Floater Stat Day

19. Public Holidays Cont’d
• To become disqualified for public holiday entitlements, an employee
must:
• Fail, without reasonable cause to work all of their regularly scheduled day of work
before or after the public holiday (first and last rule)
• Fail, without reasonable cause to work their entire shift on the public holiday if
they agreed to or were required to work that day

20. Public Holidays Cont’d
• Scenarios:
• (a) when a public holiday falls on a work day but the employee does
not work it: - she gets the day off with pay
• (b) when it falls on an employee’s non-work day: she gets a substitute
day off with pay or gets paid for the day with no substitute day off

21. Public Holidays Cont’d
(c)When an employee agrees, in writing, to work on a public holiday: -
she is paid her regular wages for all hours worked + receives another
regular work day off with public holiday pay; OR, if the employee
agrees in writing:
gets public holiday pay + premium pay for all hours worked (but no
substitute day off) for a total of 2.5x her regular rate.

22. Leaves
• Pregnancy Leave:
• 2 pieces of legislation impact: Employment Insurance and
Employment Standards
• EIAct governs the monetary piece of the leave
• ESA governs the protection of an employee’s job
• No employee can be penalized in any way for taking a pregnancy or
parental leave

23. Pregnancy Leave Cont’d
• Pregnant employees have a right to up to 17 weeks of unpaid time off
work
• Both parents have the right to take parental leave (unpaid time off
work): birth mothers who took pregnancy leave are entitled to 35
weeks; those who did not, are entitled to 37 weeks
• both parents can be on leave at the same time

24. Pregnancy Leave Cont’d
• Qualify if hired 13 weeks before expected date of delivery
• Timing: can start no earlier than 17 weeks before the due date, but no
later than the date of delivery – must be taken all at once
• Notice: employee needs to provide a minimum of 2 weeks’ written
notice of going on leave or 4 weeks’ written notice if resigning

25. Parental Leave
• Both parents are entitled (up to 35 or 37 weeks) of unpaid leave
• To qualify, must have been hired at least 13 weeks prior to the leave
• Definition of parent: birth or adoptive parent, or same sex partner
treating child as their own
• Notice: employee to provide 2 weeks written notice, but NOT obliged
to give return date
• If resigning, must provide 4 weeks’ written notice

26. Parental Leave Cont’d
• Timing: for birth mothers, it follows the pregnancy leave unless the
baby’s coming into her care is delayed (i.e. hospitalized)
• All other parents must begin the leave no later than 52 weeks after
the baby is born or comes into their care

27. Parental Leave Cont’d
• Rights:
- to return to the same or comparable job if the old one no longer
exists
- must be paid at least as much as before
- must receive any scheduled increases awarded in her absence
- to continue in benefits/pension plans
- service/seniority continue
- continued accrual of vacation time
- period of leave is not included in probationary period

28. Emergency Leave
• Up to 10 days of unpaid time off work/calendar year because of
illness, injury, certain emergencies, other urgent matters
• 10 days do not need to be consecutive
• A partial day off constitutes a full day taken
• Employee needs to provide notice in advance whenever possible
• Employer may ask for proof of need for leave

29. Family Medical Leave
• Possible 8-week leave to provide care or support to a family member
with serious medical conditions
• Significant risk of death within 26 weeks
• Need of certificate from qualified health practitioner
• Need to provide notice, but leave not dependent on notice
• Timing: begins no earlier than 1st day of 26-week period and ends on
last day of 26 week period or last day of the week in which family
member dies

30. Termination and Notice
• For employees continuously employed for more than 3 months: must
provide written notice of termination or termination pay (= pay in lieu
of notice) or a combination of both
• Intended as replacement income for a period of time
• Statutory notice period is based on years of employment (less than 3
months = 0 notice required; 3 months to one year = 1 week notice
required; 1-3 years = 2 weeks notice required; up to 8 years of work
requiring a maximum of 8 weeks of notice.

31. Notice
• During notice period conditions of employment must not be altered
• Vacation may not be scheduled during the notice period, unless the
employee agrees
• Benefits must continue during notice period
• Calculation of “regular wages” for pay in lieu of notice for those
without a regular work week: average regular wages over a 12-week
worked period immediately preceding the date of notice

32. Notice Cont’d
• “regular wages” do not include vacation pay, overtime, public holiday
pay, premium pay, termination pay or severance pay
• Notice not required for employees if: dismissed for just cause; free to
choose without penalty whether or not they work when offered work;
hired for a specific length of time and purpose, unless the contract
ends early; refuses reasonable alternate employment; does not return
to work when recalled; cannot complete work due to unforeseen
circumstances (i.e. flood or fire); is terminated as a result of a strike or
lockout

33. Severance Pay
• Compensation paid to qualified employees whose employment has
been severed after working for the employer for 5 or more years
• Separate from termination pay (pay in lieu of notice)
• Compensates for loss of seniority and job related benefits and
recognizes long service

34. Severance Cont’d
• Calculation of severance pay: employees regular wages X the sum of
completed years of employment (partial years included)
• Maximum severance is 26 weeks
• For those without regular wages for a regular work week, average the
regular wages received over the 12 weeks worked immediately prior
to when employment was severed

35. For more information…..
Go to the Ontario Ministry of Labour`s website:
http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/