Work Break Law (Ontario) The law for breaks at work is governed by Section 20 of Ontario’s Employment Standards Act. Employment Standards Act breaks are known officially as “eating periods“. Under the Employment Standards Act, employers must provide one thirty-minute break from work after every five hours of work. Employers are allowed to provide more breaks if they …
Employment Standards
Ontario has nine statutory holidays each calendar year. Statutory holidays are also known as public holidays or stat days, although they are all the same thing. As per Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, the following holidays are official statutory holidays in Ontario, in order: Statutory Holiday Date New Year’s Day January 1 Family Day The Third …
A leave of absence is a temporary stoppage of work initiated by an employee. What makes a leaves of absence different than a break from work or resignation is the fact that in most circumstances, a leave of absence protects an employee’s job. In other words, when an employee is on a genuine leave of …
Family Caregiver Leave is unpaid, job-protected leave employees in Ontario can take when they must provide care or support to a family member with a serious medical condition. Because Family Caregiver Leave is “job-protected”, employers cannot terminate or discipline employees for taking such an absence. Family Caregiver Leave Eligibility Unlike most other Ontario statutory leaves, there is …
Independent Contractor Definition Someone who contracts to do a specific piece of work, and provides his or her equipment, and executes the work under his or her terms, without being subject to orders of work is generally an independent contractor, not an employee. Use our calculator to see if a worker is an employee or an …
Family responsibility leave is unpaid, job-protected leave employees in Ontario can take when a close family member suffers an illness or injury or if there is an “an urgent matter” concerning a close family member. Because family responsibility leave is “job-protected”, employers cannot terminate employees for taking such an absence. To qualify for family responsibility …
In Ontario, bereavement leave allows employees to take up to two days of unpaid leave from work each calendar year because of the death of certain relatives. Bereavement leave is enshrined in section 50.0.2(1) of the Employment Standards Act, meaning it is a minimum standard that employers must provide no matter what. The actual text of …
Are employers allowed to collect, deduct and distribute tips? Subject to certain protections for workers, yes, employers are permitted to collect, deduct and distribute tips. Ontario’s Employment Standards Act gives employers the right to pool tips or distribute them among other staff and make other withholdings and deductions. Nevertheless, subject to a few caveats discussed …
What are the hours of work in Ontario? Although the standard 9-5 hours of work is ubiquitous, it wasn’t always this way. Up until the 19th century, hours of work were hazardously long. In 1884, Ontario made laws to address these concerns, and in 2020, the average workday looks a lot different than our primitive …
Welcome to Dutton Employment Law. Contained below is our guide to the Ontario Employment Standards Act (“ESA”). Clicking on the links below for the basic rights in the Employment Standards Act will take you to our summary article on each specific topic. What is the Employment Standards Act? The Employment Standards Act, officially called the Employment …