Know Your Employee Rights

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The basic principle of decency at work underlies all labour standards and legislation…” Fairness at Work place: Federal Labor Standards for 21st Century.

When we talk about employee rights, we have come a long way since 1872. It was the first ever year of annual Labor Day parade. Back in those times, if only you can imagine – it was still a grave crime to be a member of an union in Canada, under the law of criminal conspiracy.

This parade initially called for the release of 24 imprisoned leaders of the Typographical Union of Toronto. They had been arrested for going on a strike to reduce their work week hours to a mere 58 hours! Today this standard work week is somewhere between 40 to 48 hours.

Clearly laws in workplace have improved drastically since those Draconian times. Yet many employees still do not know what their obligations and rights are. Being informed can help one, stand up for yourself in the job you do. Hence, we have assembled some helpful resources for you.

 

Some of the Acts That Cover Your Basic Employment Rights

 

Hours of work, sick days, minimum wages, vacation and severance provision. All of these and countless more related items are spelled out as “Employment Standards”. These are the minimum standards established by law which define and guarantee rights for individuals in the workplace.

Most workers in Canada, somewhere about 90 percent are protected by their respective provincial or territory employment laws. Each province and territory have its own legislation. It is obligatory to place an Employment Standards Act poster in plain sight of employees in workplaces covered in this legislation.

The rest of the 10% of Canadian employees work in places which are federally regulated. When you are such an employee, the Labor Program administers the federal labour standards that describe employment conditions in your places of work. Also, find out if you work in federally regulated industry or business. If yes, then your employment is governed by Canada Labour Code.

 

Acts that Covers Employment Equality and Discrimination

 

The Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) bans discrimination on the basis of gender, ethnicity, race, age and many other grounds. It came into force in 1985. Subsequently it has been updated ongoingly.

Another legislation in this area is the Employment Equity Act (EEA), which comes under the Department of Justice, Canada. These laws are meant to guard the rights of four “designated groups” in particular: women, Aboriginal people, people with disabilities, and visible minorities.

The Canadian Human Rights Act functions together with the Employment Equity Act. The main difference between these two is that CHRA bars discrimination in general, however the EEA requires employers to use measures to improve employment opportunities to the four designated groups.

 

Where else to Find Out More

If you would like to learn more about what your rights entail, if your employer goes bankrupt  or you get downsized? How about other health and safety regulations which are meant to shield you from various harm?

The following below are some online resources where you can find some basic information:

Federal Department of Labour – Canada’s federal Labour Program promotes “healthy, safe, cooperative and productive workplaces.”

Basic Workplace Standards by Province – A brief comparison of minimum wages, paid public holidays, hours of work and overtime, pregnancy and parental leave, etc.

Workrights.ca – Gives you information on the labor codes of your province, to compare practices in your region to those of other provinces and territories in Canada.

Canadian Labour Congress – CLC brings together Canada’s national and international unions, the provincial and territorial federations of labor and 130 district labor councils.

Be Informed or better Call In The Experts

 

Do you think you know your rights as an employee? Probably not as well as you should. For example, there is a general misconception that salaried employees (as different from hourly workers) are automatically excluded from Employment Standards Act. Not true. Say you are an Executive Assistant earning $44,000 per year, you could still be entitled to overtime after working over 44 hour every week consistently, depending on your province of employment.

If you ever feel that your rights are being violated, try having a talk with your Human Resources department first or your union representative. Should any expert advice be needed you could contact an employment lawyer.

Some 130 years ago, they were putting Canadians who went on strike into prison. Sure, we have evolved extremely since that time. But only by knowing your fundamental rights and reaching out to others for advice when necessary, you can protect yourself from arbitrary actions of some unenlightened employers.