(This Client Guide provides general information and is made available to provide a general description of statutory employment standards in Ontario. This is not intended to constitute legal advice, which by its nature is situation specific. The legal consequences of the minimum employment standards can be confusing and if you have questions about a specific employment standard or other legal problem, you should consult a lawyer who will provide legal advice only after reviewing all the facts relevant to your situation, rather than relying on the general information provided in this Guide.)

The Employment Standards Act of Ontario (the "Act") sets out provincial minimum standards for certain specified employment conditions in Ontario. Since these standards are minimums only, an individual contract of employment may well entitle an employee to benefits beyond the statutory minimum standards. These standards do not apply to employees governed by the Canada Labour Code.

This standard applies to employees who have been employed for three months or more, unless

• they have been employed for a definite term;
• they have been temporarily laid off in accordance with the regulations;
• they have been guilty of wilful misconduct or disobedience or wilful neglect of duty that has not been condoned by the employer;
• their employment contract has become impossible of performance or is frustrated by a fortuitous or unforeseeable event or circumstance;
• they are exempted by regulation;or
• more than 50 employees are terminated in a period of four weeks or less.

Notice required is determined by length of service to a maximum of 8 weeks as follows:

Where an employer does not provide the minimum notice required by the Act, the employer must pay termination pay in lieu of notice. The required termination pay in lieu of notice is determined by length of service to a maximum of 8 weeks as follows:

Non-overtime wages means any monetary remuneration payable to an employee, except for:

• tips and gratuities;
• bonuses based on the discretion of the employer;
• traveling allowances and expenses; and
• benefits.

In addition to wages, the employer must pay or maintain benefits for the period of notice required based on the length of service.

This is a minimum standard only. The common law (or judge-made law) of Ontario implies a term into every contract of employment that it can only be terminated on reasonable notice, in the absence of any specific termination provision in the contract itself. This effectively means that virtually every employee in Ontario, because of the amount of reasonable notice as determined by the courts is greater than the statutory minimum by about a factor of four, will be entitled to much more than the minimum notice periods or payment in lieu of notice set out in the Act.

The employment standard for notice of termination and termination pay in lieu of notice is the same in the New Act.

   FURTHER QUESTIONS

If you have any questions or wish further information on employment standards, please contact a member of our Employment Group.

This page was originally created on July 30, 2001 and was last updated on September 27, 2002.

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