Working in Canada gives you opportunities and offers you restrictions altogether. Learning everything you can about the Employment Standard Act will keep you duly informed of your employees’ entitlements and better equip you to provide them. Still, it will also help you educate your employees, as many workers are unaware of their rights and entitlements in the workplace. The Canada Labour Code sets federal labour standards for employment conditions, including work hours, wage payments, leaves, vacations, holidays, etc. These standards apply to employees working in federally regulated businesses. A mindful approach to employee benefits and adherence to employment laws is mandated for every company operating in Canada and its provinces, such as Toronto.
However, if companies fail to provide legally mandated perks to employees or engage in unfair labour practices, employees are more likely to seek advice from a Toronto employment lawyer. This is considered their right to seek justice, and no objections will be raised against their righteous behaviour.
Services And Information Covered Under Federal Laws In Toronto
The state offers employment facilities under the influence of federal and state laws. The rules that facilitate and provide other benefits regarding employment are governed only by these laws. Therefore, here are some of the set regulations being provided by the laws and can be handled by a Toronto employment lawyer if the company fails to pay the benefits such as:
Standard Hours Of Work
As an employee or student intern, your standard hours of work are:
- 8 hours represent a day (any segment within 24 continuous hours) hours)
- A workweek consists of 40 hours, spanning from midnight Saturday to the following midnight Saturday follows)
- You are entitled to one complete day of rest per week, typically on Sundays. You are also entitled to breaks and a designated rest period.
For each general holiday that falls within a week, standard work hours are shortened by 8 hours.
Regulations outline exemptions or alternative standard hours of work for specific classes of employees:
- drivers in the trucking sector,
- railway trade employees,
- commission salespersons in broadcasting,
- and commission-paid salespeople in banking.
Overtime
Hours worked beyond the standard work hours qualify as overtime. If you work overtime, you are entitled to:
- compensation of at least 1.5 times the standard hourly wage,
- or paid time off equal to 1.5 hours for each hour worked.
Breaks And Rest Periods
The students and interns must be provided with the following benefits on their duty:
- Employees are entitled to an unpaid 30-minute break every five consecutive hours. This break must be taken in one uninterrupted period and cannot be divided.
- Unpaid breaks for medical reasons are also available. If the employer requests this in writing, the student intern must provide a certificate issued by a healthcare practitioner.
- This certificate should specify the required duration and frequency of breaks, along with the start and end dates for when medically necessary breaks should be taken.
- Additionally, unpaid breaks are required for nursing or expressing milk. Between shifts, there must also be a rest period of at least 8 hours.
Individual Termination
However, in Toronto, unjust terminations are entertained by a Toronto employment lawyer. If you are an employer and decide to terminate an employee’s employment, you must:
- The employee must receive at least two weeks’ written notice. For those who have served for at least three years, the notice period is equivalent to one week for each year of service, capped at eight weeks.
- Alternatively, the employer may compensate the employee with regular wages instead of notice. It is also acceptable to use a combination of notice and wages instead of notice.
A notice of termination of employment or pay instead of a notice is not necessary if the employee:
Has not worked for three continuous months, has voluntarily resigned, is terminated for justifiable reasons, is temporarily laid off, which is not considered a termination, and has a fixed-term employment contract that indicates work concludes on the agreed end date.
Annual Vacation Entitlement
If a federally regulated employer employs you, you are entitled to the following vacation time:
- Two weeks of vacation each year after completing one year with the same employer.
- Three weeks of vacation each year after completing five consecutive years with the same employer.
- Four weeks of vacation each year after completing ten consecutive years with the same employer.
- Your employer must pay your vacation pay fourteen days before your vacation starts. If this is not feasible, or if it’s the normal practice at your workplace, your employer can also distribute the pay during or immediately after your vacation.
Other Benefit Plans
While you don’t have to offer benefit plans if your business provides staff benefits such as paid vacation, dental and medical care, or life insurance, you must not discriminate among employees, their beneficiaries, and dependents based on marital status, gender, or age.
For example, employees cannot be prevented from accessing certain benefits based on their age, gender, household status, or marital status, including same-sex couples and common-law marriages. However, if such practices prevail at the workplace, the affected employee can seek redressal assistance from a Toronto employment lawyer and get their share of benefits.
