Employment Standards Act

General: 1. The purpose of the ESA is to set out rights of employees and requirements that apply to the majority of employers in Ontario workplaces. 2. People that are not covered by the ESA are: a) Employees in sectors that fall under federal jurisdiction. b) People working under a program approved by colleges. c) A secondary school student who preforms work under a program authorized by the school board d) People who do community participation under the Ontario Works Act, 1997. e) Police officers f) Inmates g) People who had religious, politic, judicial, or elected trade union offices Record Keeping: 1. Yes, all employers have to keep a written record on employees. 2. The information that must be included is the employers: name, address, starting date of work, date of birth (if under 18), hours worked each day/week, work excess hours on overtime pay, vacation time and pay records, wage statement, all documents relating to pregnancy, parental, family medical, organ donor, and homework register. Minimum Wage: 1. The people who do not earn minimum wage are: 2. The three hour rule is when an employee is required to work for three hours or longer, but works less, they must be paid by: a)Three hours at the minimum wage b) The employers regular wage for the time worked 3. The minimum wage for general workers in Ontario is $10.25 per hour. Hours of Work: 1. The maximum hours of work for 1 week is 48 hours. 2. Yes, an employee can work more than 60 hours a week, IF they make an application of approval for excess weekly hours. It must be approved by the Director of Employment Standards. 3. No, if you agree to longer hours daily, or weekly, you do not get overtime pay. 4. Employers are required to get a 30 minute (minimum) lunch break, at every 5 hours (maximum). Or, if both the employer and employee agree, the employee can have two separate lunch breaks, adding up to 30 minutes, at the minimum. 5. Employers are not required to have coffee breaks. If they are required to stay tat the workplace during this coffee break, must be payed the minimum wage. 6. An employee must have at least 11 consecutive hours off each day. 7. An employee must have at least 8 hours off work between shifts. 8. An employee must have at least 24 hours off work weekly, or 48 hours off work in every period of two consecutive work weeks. 9. No, employees do not get payed more working on Sundays or nights. 10. Managers and supervisors do not qualify for overtime pay. 11. Overtime pay is the pay that an employee receives after working their required hours. 12. An employee starts receiving overtime pay after they work their required hours. 13. Yes, an employee can agree to have paid time off instead of overtime pay. 14. Yes, an employee who has a fixed salary can receive overtime pay. 15. If an employer does not follow the ESA, do not receive overtime pay.

Public Holidays: 1. The public holidays in Ontario are: New Years Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. 2. If an employee agrees in writing to work during a public holiday, they are payed by: a) Public holiday play, plus premium pay for the hours worked on the public holday b) Their regular rate for hours worked on the holiday, plus they will receive another day off. Vacation: 1. Employees are entitled to vacation time within 10 months of completing the vacation year or stub period. 2. Employees are entitled to a minimum of 2 weeks vacation time after working 12 months with an employer. Termination: 1. After 3 months of consecutive service, and employer must provide the employee with either written notice of termination or termination pay or combination. 2. An employer can not terminate someone if the employee asked questions about the ESA, or using a right under the ESA. 3. If an employee has been working for 3 months, but less than a year, they must receive a 1 week notice. If an employee has been working 1 year, but less than 3 years, they must receive 2 weeks notice. 4. A written notice is either given by fax, e-mail, or mail. 5. Termination Pay is a lump sum payment equal to the regular wages for a regular work week that an employee would otherwise have been entitled to during the written notice period. Equal Pay for Equal Work: 1. Equal Pay for Equal Work is stating that men and women will receive equal pay, if have the same job. 2. The expectations for this are: a) If an employee works at night, and gets payed more. b) A merit system. This means that an employee can be payed more money or a bonus based on a system that measures the work performance of the employees objectively. c) A seniority system. This means that if an employee works more hours, they will get payed more.