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This guide is a practical source of details about key sections of the ESA. It is for your details and support just. It is not a legal document. If you require information or exact language, please refer to the ESA itself and its guidelines.

This guide needs to not be used as or considered legal guidance. You may have higher rights under an employment contract, collective arrangement, the typical law or other legislation. If you're not sure about anything in this guide, please talk to an attorney.

Topics covered by the ESA?

These include:

advantage plans

bereavement leave

child death leave

crime-related kid disappearance leave

vital health problem leave

declared emergency situation leave

domestic or sexual violence leave

the work requirements poster: distribution requirements

equivalent pay for equal work

household caretaker leave

household medical leave

family duty leave

filing a claim

hours of work, consuming periods and pause

infectious illness emergency leave

licensing - short-lived assistance agencies and recruiters

lie detector tests

base pay

non-compete contracts

organ donor leave

overtime pay

payment of salaries

pregnancy and adult leave

public holidays

reservist leave

severance of employment

ill leave

momentary assistance agencies

termination of work and temporary layoffs

tips or gratuities

holiday.

composed policy on detaching from work.

written policy on electronic monitoring of staff members.


Reprisals are prohibited

Employers are prohibited from penalizing employees in any method because the employee worked out ESA rights.

Clients of temporary help firms are restricted from penalizing task workers in any method due to the fact that the project staff member exercised ESA rights.

Recruiters are restricted from punishing potential staff members who engage or utilize the employer's services in any way for certain reasons, including asking the employer to adhere to the Act or making inquiries about whether a person holds a licence as required by the ESA.

Employers, clients of momentary assistance firms and employment recruiters who dedicate a reprisal can be:

- bought to compensate the employee, project staff member or prospective worker.

- ordered to renew the worker or assignment staff member (if the reprisal was devoted by an employer or client of a short-lived aid firm).

- bought to pay a charge.

- prosecuted.


Discover more about reprisals.

Greater right or benefit

If a provision in an employment agreement or another Act offers a staff member a higher right or benefit than a minimum employment standard under the ESA then that provision uses to the staff member instead of the employment requirement.

No waiving of rights

No worker can accept waive or give up their rights under the ESA (for example, the right to receive overtime pay or public holiday pay). Any such agreement is null and space.

Enforcement and compliance

Violations of the ESA can lead to enforcement action.

The kind of enforcement action that can be taken depends on which provision of the ESA was contravened. Examples consist of:

- an order to pay.

- a compliance order.

- a ticket.

- a notice of contravention with a monetary penalty.

- an order to restore and/or compensate.

- prosecution.


Other workplace-related laws

The ESA contains only a few of the rules affecting work in Ontario. Other provincial and federal legislation governs issues such as workplace health and security, human rights and labour relations.

Related Ontario laws include the:

Occupational Health And Wellness Act.

Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997.

Labour Relations Act, 1995.

Pay Equity Act.

Human Rights Code.


To learn more about other Ontario laws, contact ServiceOntario:

- Tel: 416-326-1234 (in Toronto).

- Toll-free: 1-800-267-8097 (in the rest of Ontario).

- online at ServiceOntario.ca.


Federal laws affecting offices include statutes on income tax, employment insurance coverage and the Canada Pension Plan.

For additional information about federal laws, call the Government of Canada information line at 1-800-622-6232.

Who is not covered by the ESA?

Most workers and companies in Ontario are covered by the ESA. However, the ESA does not use to some people and the individuals or organizations they work for, such as:

- staff members and employers in sectors that fall under federal work law jurisdiction, such as airline companies, banks, the federal civil service, post offices, radio and television stations and inter-provincial railways.

- people working under a program approved by a college of used arts and innovation or university.

- individuals working under a program that is approved by a career college signed up under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005.

- secondary school trainees who work under a work experience program licensed by the school board that operates the school in which the student is registered.

- people who do community involvement under the Ontario Works Act, 1997.

- police officers (other than for the lie detectors provisions of the ESA, which do apply).

- inmates taking part in work or rehabilitation programs, or people who work as part of a sentence or order of a court.

- individuals who hold political, judicial, spiritual or chosen trade union offices.

- major junior ice hockey gamers who meet specific conditions related to scholarships.

- people who satisfy the meaning of business specialist or info innovation specialist under the ESA if certain conditions are satisfied.


For a total listing of other individuals not governed by the ESA, please examine the ESA and its regulations.

Employee misclassification

Employers are prohibited from misclassifying staff members as independent contractors, interns, volunteers or any other type of employee not covered by the ESA.

Learn more about worker misclassification.

Additional resources

In addition to this guide, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD) has additional resources offered to assist you:

- The Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual is the main recommendation source for the policies of the Director of Employment Standards appreciating the interpretation, administration and enforcement of the ESA.

- Staff at the Employment Standards Information Centre are readily available to answer your concerns about the ESA. Information is available in many languages. You can reach the info centre from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.

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