Minimum Mandatory Employer Obligations - Employment Standards Act, 2000
| Author | Paul Wearing |
| Profession | BA (Hons), MPA, LLB. Barrister & Solicitor |
| Pages | 35-52 |
• 35
CHAPTER SEVEN
Minimum Mandatory Employer Obligations —
Employment Standards Act, 2000
What You Should Know
This law1 is an employee’s best friend. It sets minimum standards for the
regulation of basic working conditions of employees who perform work
in Ontario or outside Ontario if the work performed o utside Ontario is a
continuation of work performed in Ontario. The Employment Standards
Act, 2000 imposes obligations on employers for record keeping and job
protection for specified leaves of absence. It sets standards for hours of
work and eating periods and breaks. It guarantees minimum wage, over-
time pay, termination pay, severance pay, if applicable, vacation pay, pub-
lic holiday pay, equal pay for equal work, and continuity of employment
when businesses are sold. The law protects employees from reprisals for
seeking the enforcement of the standards set by the law and provides a
vehicle for employee complaints and the investigation and adjudication
of those complaints. It sets business conduct standards for temporar y
help agencies and codifies the obligations of those agencies toward tem-
porary workers.
The law provides employees with a cost-free vehicle to obtain remedies
against their employer to enforce the standards and protections mandated
by the Employment Standards Act, 2000. Additional workplace standards
for the benefit and protection of employees are mandated by the Ontario
Occupational Health and Safety Act, Human Rights Code, Pay Equity Act,
36 • EMPLOYMENT AND LABOUR LAW TOOLBOX
All employment contracts, whether written or oral, must meet or ex-
ceed the minimum standards set for terms and conditions of employment
by the Employment Standards Act, 2000. An employer and employee can
agree to compensation that provides a greater benefit than the minimum
standard, but they cannot contract out of the minimum standard. Cer-
tain classes of employees are not covered by the law, notably employ-
ees of federally regulated employers, persons employed by the embassy
or consulate of a foreign nation, students in work-experience programs,
elected trade union ocials, and police ocers. There are fur ther ex-
emptions, and reference should be made to the Employment Standards
Act, 2000 and the regulations under it for a complete list.
As of 20 May 2015 and annually thereafter, every employer is required
to provide each of her employees with a copy of the most recent version
of the Ontario Ministry of Labour poster What You Should Know About
the Ontario Employment Standards Act.2 Employers are obligated to dis-
play the poster in the workplace as well.
A. RETENTION OF EMPLOYMENT RECORDS
Employers are required to collect and maintain certain records referable
to their employees for mandated periods of time:
• Employee name, address, and start date must be kept for three years
after the employee ceases to be employed.
• The date of birth of employed students who are under the age of
eighteen must be kept until the earlier of
» three years after the employee’s eighteenth birthday or
» three years after the employee ceases to be employed.
• For hourly workers, the number of hours worked each day and week
must be kept for three years after the relevant day or week. For sala-
ried workers, the number of excess hours worked each day and week
and not exempt from the hours of work and overtime provisions of
the Employment Standards Act, 2000 must be kept for the same period.
• Vacation pay statements must be kept for three years after the vaca-
tion time has been taken.
In addition, records of pregnancy or parental leave, family medical leave,
personal emergency leave, declared emergency leave, reservist leave, fam-
ily caregiver leave, critically ill child care leave, and crime-related child
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