Super Job Search Tips

• Tips to Get You Started with Your Job Search Campaign
• Maximize your Chances Tips on Pre-migration Job Search
• Things to Know About the Employment Standards Act
• Canadian Employer Expectations: Your First Job In Canada
• 12 Critical Canadian Interview Tips
• IS YOUR RESUME READY?
  

Part of your exploration while researching occupations and labour market information
should also be about the working conditions. I have used Province of Ontario as my example to give the readers some idea on employment standards in the wonderful place of work.

Please see more information on this at http://www.gov.on.ca/lab/english/es/index.html

As it states on the website of Government of Ontario:

All workers in Ontario are covered by the Employment Act, except those who work in industries under federal jurisdiction, such as airlines, banks, the federal civil service, radio and television and railways . Every employer covered by the Employment Standards Act must display a poster in the workplace describing the highlights of the Act.

Hours and Rates of Pay
Minimum Wage
Most employees are eligible for minimum wage, whether they work full time,
part time or casually, regardless of whether they are paid salary or commission or by an hourly, piece or flat rate.

The current minimum wages in Ontario are: (Provincial Rates vary)
General Workers: $6.85
Liquor Servers: $5.95
Students Under 18 Years of Age: $6.40
Homeworkers: $7.54
Homeworkers do paid work such as sewing clothes for a manufacturer in their homes.

The minimum age is 14-years for most workplaces. There are a few exceptions
including: factory operations, 15-years; construction & logging operations,
16-years; and window cleaning, 18-years.

The workday does not exceed 13 hours and employees are entitled to 11 consecutive hours off work each day. Employees working shift work must receive at least eight hours off between shifts unless the total hours worked on both shifts is less than 13. Employees must receive at least 24 consecutive hours off each work- week.

NEW REGULATIONS - The weekly hourly limit is 48 hours, but now under the EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS ACT, employees can agree, in writing, to longer hours (up to 60 hours a week) without employers obtaining Ministry approval.

Employees are entitled to overtime pay after working 44 hours in a week. Overtime pay is at least 1½ times the regular rate of pay. Employees can also take 1½ hours of paid time off for each hour of overtime worked, as long as both employee and employer agree in writing.

After five consecutive hours of work, employees are entitled to a 30-minute meal break. However, if the employer and employee agree, meal breaks can be split into two periods. Coffee breaks are not covered by legislation.

Vacation

Employees earn two weeks of vacation time every 12 months. Employees that work less than one year are entitled to vacation pay - four per cent of their rate of pay. Employees may take their vacation one or two weeks at a time but if employee and employer agree in writing, vacations can be scheduled in other ways.

Leave of Absence
Emergency unpaid leaves of absences for illness; injury or other emergencies are available, up to 10 days per year. These leaves are different from sickness or bereavement leaves, which are often part of employee benefits plans.

Parental Privilege
Parental Leave
Parents can take up to 17 weeks of unpaid pregnancy or paternity leave if they were hired at least 13 weeks before the expected date of birth. These leaves are different from maternity benefits and parental benefits under the federal Employment Insurance Act. An employee who has a miscarriage or stillbirth is still eligible for pregnancy leave if the miscarriage or stillbirth occurred within 17 weeks of the due date.

Rights
Employers are prohibited from using lie detectors to screen employees. (Although high security jobs such as police may need this test as part of their recruitment process)

Vacation - An Employment Standards Act Refresher

Vacation FAQs

Q) Do public holidays affect vacations and vacation pay?

ANSWER) when an employee takes a block of vacation that includes a public holiday he or she is still paid for the public holiday. An employee can take another day off work with pay within three months of the public holiday or, if the employee agrees in writing, within 12 months of the public holiday. Also, if the employee agrees in writing, the employer can simply pay public holiday pay.

Q) Do employers have to provide vacation pay even during labour disputes?

ANS) If employees strike or are locked out the employer must still provide vacation pay for any scheduled vacation time .

Q) What do I do if my employer doesn't follow the ESA? When an employee thinks an employer is not complying with the ESA?

ANS) He or she can visit the nearest Ministry of Labour office (in Toronto call 416-326-7160) to discuss the situation or file a complaint.

Complaints are investigated by an employment standards officer who may order compliance with the ESA

Where can I find out more about vacations or other workplace legislation
governed under the Employment Standards Act?

ANS) Contact the Employment Standards Information Centre at 416-326-7160.

Check out the web site www.gov.on.ca/lab

or try the fax-on-demand service at 416-326-6546.

To buy copies of the ESA, call the Labour Publications Sales Unit: 1-800-809-4731.

In the workaday world we don't often think about our rights and responsibilities as employees. From time to time however, the "need to know" comes up, and it can be frustrating to get the answers quickly.

The Basics: The Ontario Ministry of Labour oversees the Employment Standards Act, which covers most employees in Ontario. Employment benefits such as employment insurance, pregnancy leave and parental leave are administered through Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC). So, the Ontario Ministry of Labour and HRDC are the two main government agencies that you need to know about as an employee in Ontario. Some people will need to know about the Labour Program of Human Resources Development Canada, which covers employees in federally regulated businesses such as banks, post-offices and transportation.



How long do I have to work to qualify for a paid public holiday?

• There's no simple answer to this question, so it's best to read the OntarioMinistry of Labour Fact Sheet, but a basic guideline is that ALL of thefollowing five conditions must be met to be eligible for pay on a paid
  public holiday:
• You have been working for your present employer for at least 3-months. You worked at least 12-shifts/days during the 4-week period preceding the holiday.
• You worked your regularly scheduled days both before and after the holiday.
• Reasonable cause was given if you previously agreed to work on the holiday and you did not perform a full day's work on that day.
• You are not employed under an agreement where you may elect to work or not when requested to do so.
  

Under the law, Ontario has eight paid public holidays: (There may be one or two additional public holidays in other provinces)

• New Year's Day (JAN 1 ST)
• Good Friday
• Victoria Day
• Canada Day (JULY 1 ST)
• Civic Holiday August 5 th
• Labour Day 1 st Monday in September
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day
• December 26th, Boxing Day
  

I'm pregnant. How long do I have to work to qualify for Employment Insurance Maternity Benefits?

You are eligible for maternity benefits if you have worked at least 700-hours in the past 52-weeks. Basically, benefits are calculated at 55% of your salary, up to a maximum of $413.00, and continue for fifteen weeks.
You can apply for maternity benefits at your local Human Resources Development Canada office no earlier than to 8-weeks before your expected date of delivery, and no later than 17-weeks after the delivery. If you want to be eligible for full entitlement - don't delay applying for more than 1- week after delivery. For specific details, consult HRDC officer once you arrive in Canada.

You should also know about Pregnancy leave, which is a right pregnant women have under the Employment Standards Act to take a leave of at least 17-weeks. To be eligible for pregnancy leave, you must have been hired by your present employer at least 13-weeks before the date your due-date. Your employer does not have to pay you any wages when you are on pregnancy leave.

Your partner may also want to consider parental benefits and parental leave, which apply when you become a new parent of a child. As such, you can take an unpaid leave of up to 18-weeks to care for the new child, and you may also qualify for parental benefits through Human Resources Development Canada. Apply for benefits through your local HRDC office.

I am quitting my job and I haven't taken a vacation this year. Am I entitled to vacation pay? (Similar standards for other provinces)

Yes! The Employment Standards Act states that most workers in Ontario are eligible for vacation pay - regardless of how long or how often you worked for your present employer. Vacation pay is calculated as a percentage of the gross amount you have earned this year, minus any vacation pay received in advance.

By law, the minimum vacation entitlement is two weeks per year, which is 4% of your gross earnings. Your employer is required to pay vacation pay when you take your scheduled vacation - but since you have not taken your vacation this year, you should expect 4% of your gross earnings since your last vacation, payable no later than 7-days after your last day of work.

What is the difference between severance pay and termination pay?

Termination pay, sometimes called "pay-in-lieu of notice" or "lieu pay," is pay instead of proper written notice of termination. The Act clearly states that notice or termination pay is required for employees who have been with their employer for more than 3-months. The notice required is based on how long an employee has worked for the employer and is essentially 1-week per
year, with the maximum being 8-weeks notice or termination pay for 8-years or more of service. There are exceptions, such as contract workers or situations involving a temporary layoff. Some workers qualify for severance pay - an extra payment for the years and effort in the employer's business. In general, employees must have a minimum of 5-years to qualify for severance pay and can receive one week per year of service to a maximum of 26- weeks.

Employers can request permission from the Ontario Minister of Labour to schedule extended hours for periods of excessive demands.

Are home workers covered under minimum wage provisions?

Yes, home workers not only receive the current Ontario adult minimum hourly wage ($6.85), but are also entitled to receive and extra 10% (.69) to cover the cost of utilities and space. That makes the minimum hourly wage for full-time, part-time and student home workers $7.54 an hour.

Note: Home workers are not domestic workers. Home workers work in a private home for a business owned by someone else. Examples of the types of jobs done by home workers include: sewing, or other manufacturing, stuffing envelopes or other packaging, food preparation, assembly, repair or alterations. To hire home workers, employers must have a permit from the
Director of Employment Standards, Ontario Ministry of Labour.

I work in a retail store and get really stressed because of the long hours I put in over the holidays. I do it because we're very busy and short staffed, but what are my legal rights?

Under the Employee Standards Act, retail employees have the right to continuous rest periods of 36-hours, every 7-days, and the right to refuse work on Sundays or paid public holidays. The Act also sets a limit of 8-hours per day and 48-hours per week as normal working limits. If you and your employer agree however, your workday can be as long as 12-hours, although the 48-hours per week limit still applies. Overtime (one and one-half times your regular wage) must be paid after 44-hours.

See above to determine if you are eligible for pay on a paid public holiday. If you do not qualify for a paid public holiday, you are obliged to work if it's your regularly scheduled day of work. The good news is that you are entitled to one and one-half times your regular wage for all the hours you work on the holiday!

I am often sent home from work because it is slow and we don't have any orders to process. Should I expect to be paid for the shift anyway?

You fall under the Three-hour Rule. If you are called in to work, and work less than three hours, you are entitled to whichever of the following pays the higher amount:

3-hours at the minimum wage, or your regular wage for the time you worked.

Exception: This rule does not apply when the regular shift is less than 3-hours long, and exempts students, including those over 18-years.

I have not received any pay for work I completed several months ago, and I am owed close to $1000.00 in unpaid wages. How do I go about getting my money?

In Canada there are two sets of labour laws. The Employment Standards Act (Ontario Ministry of Labour) covers provincial workers, and the Canada Labour Code (HRDC Human Resources Development Canada, Labour Program) covers workers in industries that have federal or international jurisdiction – such as post offices, railways, airlines, banks, shipping companies that cross provincial and state borders, and radio and television stations.

Chances are the Employment Standards Act covers your grievance. File your claim with the Ontario Ministry of Labour. The average case takes about six months to resolve, so it's best to try resolving it by writing to your previous employer first. The Ministry can help you with this. There's also a time limit to file your claim (usually within six months of termination) -
so don't waste any time!
Contacting the Ontario Ministry of Labour:
Telephone Inquiry Number
 416- 326-7160
1-800-531-5551