This document outlines basic workplace rights in Ontario, Canada. It explains 14 key rights including minimum wage, hours of work, overtime pay, vacation time, leaves, and termination procedures. The document is intended to help workers understand their legal protections and how to resolve disputes if their rights are violated.

1. YOUR RIGHTS AT WORK
A School of Labour Workshop
Maureen Hynes
416 415 5000 x 2549
mhynes@georgebrown.ca

2. Outcomes
(1) Explain your basic rights in the workplace
(2) Take action if workplace law is broken –
what to do, where to go, who to call, what
risks are involved
(3) Analyze the differences between unionized
and non-unionized workplaces

3. 100 years ago, we didn’t
have….
 Laws that cover hours and minimum wages
 Laws that protect children from working full-time
 More equity in men’s and women’s wages
 Health and Safety legislation
 Unemployment Insurance
 Pensions
 Health insurance (OHIP) since 1966
 Workers’ Compensation since 1917
 Social Assistance
 Unions!

4. How did we get all these laws?
 Activism – marches, protests, strikes, petitions,
rallies
 Research and study
 Union bargaining
 Lobbying and advocacy
 Political parties took up the issues (which ones?)
 Press and media coverage
 Coalitions of church groups, community groups,
unions, etc
 Sometimes people died to get these rights

5. Similarities: then and now
 Situation of children globally – where is child
labour still an issue? And why?
 Situation of immigrant workers in Canada –
“desperate for work, dared not complain,
would be quickly replaced”
 A systemic problem that doesn’t seem to get
better – perhaps even for the second
generation (Stats Can, 2006)

6. Laws that protect us
 Ontario Human Rights Code: no discrimination on the basis of sex,
race, religion, sexual orientation, country of origin, disability, etc
 Employment Standards Act: covers minimum wages, hours of work,
overtime, vacations and holidays, termination, etc
 Occupational Health & Safety Act: gives you the right to know
about workplace hazards; to participate in decisions about hazards
(through committees, representatives, safety inspections); and to
refuse unsafe work
 Workplace Safety & Insurance Act: provides you with insurance
payments in case of an occupational accident or injury, and some
access to retraining, under conditions
 Ontario Labour Relations Act: protects workers who want to organize
or participate in a union; covers how collective agreements must work;
covers when strikes or lockouts can take place; restricts employers from
unfair labour practices; makes unions represent their workers fairly)
 Pay Equity Act: ensures people in jobs requiring the same effort, skill,
responsibilities, and conditions are paid the same

7. Employment Standards Act
 Minimum wage in Ontario
 Hours of work
 Overtime pay
 Meal breaks
 Public Holidays
 Vacations
 Pregnancy leave
 Parental leave
 Pay information and record keeping
 Termination of employment

8. 1. Minimum wages
March 31 March 31 Feb 1
2008 2009 2010
General $8.75 $9.50 10.25
minimum wage
Liquor servers $7.60 $8.25 8.90
Students $8.20 $8.90 9.60
under 18
Homeworkers $9.63 $10.45 11.28

9. FYI, minimum wages across
Canada…
Alberta $8.00 Nunavut $8.50
BC $8.00 Ontario $8.00
Manitoba $8.00 PEI $7.50
NB $7.25 Quebec $8.50
Nfld $7.50 Sask $8.25
NWT $8.25 Yukon $8.37
NS $7.60

10. What do you think?
 Ifyou are earning minimum wage, do you
have enough to live on?
 The next slide shows you the “Low Income
Cut-Off”, that is, what you need to earn in
order to be above the poverty line…

11. Before-Tax Low-Income Cut-Offs
(LICOs), 2008
Source: HRDC, Citizenship and Immigration
Family Size Living in a Community with
a population of 500,000+
1 person $21,202
2 people $26,396
3 $32,450
4 $39,399
5 $44,686
6 $50,397
7 $56,110
More than 7, add $5,713 per person

12. 2. Hours of work
 Your employer cannot require you to
work more than 8 hours in a day
UNLESS the employer has set a
longer work week; and in the case of
accidents & emergencies.
 Not more than 48 hours a week
UNLESS you give the employer
permission in writing to work up to 60
hours a week.
 You have to be free from work:
 11 consecutive hours a day
 8 hours between shifts
 24 consecutive hours a week, or
48 hours in 2 weeks.
 You can refuse to work on Sundays if
you work in retail.

13. 3. Overtime pay
 Afterworking 44 hours in a week, you must
be paid at least time-and-a-half UNLESS:
 unless you have agreed, in writing, to take off one
and a half hours for each hour worked
 and unless you have agreed, in writing, to
average your overtime pay over 4 weeks at 44
hours each week (i.e., no overtime pay until
you’ve worked 176 hours).
 Ifyou get $8.75 an hour (minimum wage),
time-and-a-half is $13.13.

14. 4. Coffee breaks
& meal breaks
 One half hour meal break after 5 hours of
work.
 Or, if you agree, two 15-minute breaks
within the 5 hours
 Paid or unpaid?

15. 5. Hours of work
The “three-hour call-in” rule
 If your employer has you come in for your
regular shift –
 or if the employer calls you for an extra shift -
 BUT then wants to send you home before
your shift is over –
 -- then s/he must pay you a minimum of 3
hours, even if you worked fewer hours than
that

16. 6. Paid Public Holidays in
Ontario
1. New Year’s Day
2. Family Day – new!
3. Good Friday
4. Victoria Day
5. Canada Day
6. Labour Day
7. Thanksgiving Day
8. Christmas Day
9. Boxing Day

17. 7. Termination of employment
 Ifyour boss lets you go, s/he must give you
“notice” (warning);
 Or if s/he doesn’t give you notice, s/he must
give you the same number of weeks of pay
instead, depending on how long you’ve
worked there

18. 7. Termination pay
 Less than 3 months 0 weeks notice/pay
 3-12 months  1 week’s notice or pay
 More than 1 year, less than 3 yrs 2 weeks
 More than 3 years, less than 4 3 weeks
 More than 4 years, less than 5 4 weeks
 More than 5 years, less than 6  5 weeks
 More than 6 years, less than 7  6 weeks
 More than 7 years, less than 8  7 weeks
 8 years or more  8 weeks

19. 9. Pregnancy leave
 Ifa woman has worked 13 weeks before the
baby’s due date, then she can get 17
weeks of (EI-funded) pregnancy leave
(actually this works out to 15 weeks with the
two-week waiting period for EI).
 The employer doesn’t pay the woman’s
wages during pregnancy leave –
Employment Insurance (EI) does.

20. 9. Parental leave
 A new mother or father / other parent can also get
35 or 37 weeks of PAID, JOB-PROTECTED
parental leave when the baby is born or adopted –
 -- as long as s/he has had at least 600 hours of work
in the past year, or since her last claim (e.g., 15
weeks @ 40 hours – or 30 weeks @ 20 hours).
 The birth mother will get 35 weeks if she’s already
taken her full 17 weeks pregnancy leave;
 37 weeks for the birth mother if she didn’t take the
17 weeks, or for the other parent.

21. 10. Vacations
 After 12 months of working in the same job or with the
same employer, you get 2 weeks of vacation a year.
 Your employer must schedule your vacation in 1 or 2
week blocks, UNLESS you have agreed, in writing, to
take shorter blocks, like one day at a time.
 If you leave your job before a year is up, or if are
working part-time, you will probably get your vacation
as 4% of your pay

22. 11. Emergency leave
 If
you work in a workplace with more than
50 employees, you can have 10 days of
unpaid, job-protected leave per year to deal
with family or emergency issues.
 But -- only 50% of Ontarians work in
companies or organizations with more than
50 employees

23. 12. Family Medical Leave
 As of September, 2005, you are eligible for up to 8
job-protected weeks off to care for a parent (step-
parent/foster parent), spouse (including same sex
spouse), or child (step-child/foster child) who is at
risk of dying within 26 weeks. [list expanded Oct /06]
 You need to get a certificate from a “qualified health
professional”
 You can get 6 weeks of EI “Compassionate Care”
payments.

24. 13. Pay information and record
keeping
Your boss has to give you this information with
your pay:
 The pay period
 The amount of any deductions
 Reasons for deductions
 Your gross pay
 Your net pay

25. 12. Resolving a dispute
 If you have a complaint about unpaid wages,
you must file your complaint with the Ministry
of Labour within 6 months.
 If your complaint is about another ESA issue,
you have 2 years to file a complaint
 Get help when filing a complaint – call the
Workers’ Action Centre 416 531 0778, or a
legal clinic