Terminations & Severance
Guidance on structuring individual dismissals and severance packages to minimize legal exposure.
Learn more Employment Standards Compliance
Employment standards compliance for employers.
The Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the "ESA") sets obligations most employers only discover when they've breached one. We help you stay onside, on wages, hours, leaves, classifications, and the written policies the law now requires.
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Employment Standards Compliance in Ontario
Compliance is cheaper than a complaint
The Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the "ESA") sets minimum obligations that apply to most Ontario workplaces, and they aren't optional or waivable. A single misstep, multiplied across a workforce, can turn into a Ministry of Labour complaint, an audit, or a group of unhappy employees. Getting the fundamentals right is far less expensive than fixing them after the fact.
Where employers most often slip
- Hours of work and overtime: miscalculating overtime or misapplying exemptions
- Vacation time and vacation pay: common errors scheduling vacations and calculating vacation pay
- Leaves of absence: mishandling protected leaves and the right to reinstatement
- Termination and severance pay: underpaying statutory minimums
- Misclassification: treating employees as independent contractors, which the ESA specifically prohibits
- Record-keeping: failing to keep the records the ESA requires
The newer requirements
The rules keep expanding. The ESA was recently amended to require employers with 25 or more employees to have a written electronic-monitoring policy. Large-scale terminations carry their own notice and filing obligations. Staying compliant means keeping current, not just setting policies once.
Misclassifying employees as contractors is one of the most common and expensive ESA problems. The label on the agreement doesn't decide the question: if the working relationship is really employment, the obligations apply anyway, often with significant retroactive liability. It's worth reviewing how you engage your workforce.
How we help
- Audit your pay, hours, leave, and classification practices for ESA compliance
- Prepare the written policies the ESA and related legislation require
- Advise on misclassification risk and how to structure engagements properly
- Respond to Ministry of Labour complaints and claims
Employment Standards Compliance FAQs
Common questions about ESA compliance.
Practical, Canadian-law guidance for employers meeting their ESA obligations, across Ontario and Canada.
The ESA sets minimums for wages, overtime, vacation and public holiday pay, hours of work, protected leaves, termination and severance pay, and record-keeping, among others. These apply to most Ontario employers and generally can't be waived, so it's worth confirming your practices actually meet them.
Yes, if you have 25 or more employees in Ontario, a written policy describing whether and how you electronically monitor employees is required. It's a straightforward gap to close, and worth doing.
Misclassification is expressly prohibited by the ESA, and the label doesn't control: if the relationship is really employment, the obligations apply regardless, potentially with significant retroactive liability for unpaid entitlements. Reviewing how you engage contractors is a sensible precaution.
The Ministry of Labour can investigate and order payment of amounts owing, and the ESA protects employees from reprisal for raising a complaint. A prompt, well-documented response matters, and getting your practices in order beforehand is the best protection.
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Confident you're compliant?
We'll review your practices and flag what needs attention before it becomes a complaint.
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