Some of the Basics - Employment Standards in Ontario.

If you work in Ontario, you are probably protected by the Employment Standards Act. It does not cover federal employees and a some employees in other special categories. There are exceptions and special rules for some workers under the law. (For further information on employee rights and a free consultation contact us.)

The basic rights protected by the Employment Standards Act in Ontario.

• Hours of Work
  Generally, employees cannot be required or permitted to work more than:
  8 hours a day--or the number of hours in an established work day if it’s more than 8; 48 hours a week.
  An employee can agree in writing to work more than these limits.
• Payment
  Employees must be paid on a regular, recurring payday and given a statement showing their wages and deductions for that pay period.
• Vacation Time and Pay
  Most employees earn at least 2 weeks of vacation time after every 12 months of employment. Employees are entitled to be paid at least 4% of their total wages earned as vacation pay.
• Public Holidays
  A public holiday is a day off work, with public holiday pay. Ontario has eight public holidays every year. Most employees are allowed to take public holidays off regardless of how long they've been working and whether they're full-time, part-time, permanent, a student, or on a limited-term contract.
• Pregnancy Leave and Parental Leave
  Eligible employees are entitled to take 17 weeks of Pregnancy Leave and 35 weeks of Parental Leave (if they have taken Pregnancy Leave). All other eligible parents, including pregnant employees who don't take Pregnancy Leave, can take up to 37 weeks of Parental Leave. These are unpaid, job-protected leaves.
• Personal Emergency Leave. If an employer regularly employs at least 50 people, its workers are allowed to take up to 10 days a year of unpaid, job-protected Personal Emergency Leave. This leave is for personal illness, injury, or medical emergency, or for the death, illness, injury, medical emergency or urgent matter of certain family members.
• Family Medical Leave
  Employees can take Family Medical Leave to care for and support certain family members who have a serious illness with a significant risk of dying within a period of 26 weeks. It is unpaid, job-protected leave of up to 8 weeks in a 26-week period.
• Termination Notice and Pay
  An employer must give an employee advance written notice, or termination pay instead of notice, or a combination of both, if the employee has been working continuously for 3 months or more and his or her job is terminated. The amount of notice or pay depends on how long the employee has been working for the employer and the number of employees being terminated in a 4-week period.
• Employees can't be punished for claiming their rights
  Employers cannot intimidate, fire, suspend, or otherwise punish an employee, or threaten any of these actions because the employee asks for or asks about their Employment Standards Act rights.
• There are other Employment Standards Act rights not covered in this site, and not all employees qualify for all Employment Standards Act rights.

The information contained at this web site is provided for reference purposes only and is not to be interpreted in any way as legal advice. You should seek professional legal counsel for your specific employment situation or job loss.