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Employment Standards - An Overview

A Solid Foundation

Employment standards are essentially the foundation for creating productive workplaces. They help protect the rights of workers, foster cooperative relationships between employers and workers, and provide the necessary conditions for a productive economy.

Canada Labour Code

Employment standards are set out in Part III of the Canada Labour Code. The Code is administered by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada’s Labour Program and applies to federally regulated workplaces.

Code provisions are minimum standards only and do not interfere with additional rights or enhanced benefits established by collective agreements, private arrangements or employer policies.

Application of Part III

Part III of the Canada Labour Code covers all workers and employers who work within the federal jurisdiction. This includes some of Canada’s major infrastructure sectors, such as interprovincial and international transportation (air, rail, ports and trucking), communications, banking and Crown corporations. It covers about 12,000 employers, 128,000 workplaces and 1 million workers.

Employment Standards

The primary objective of Part III is to establish and protect the worker's right to fair and equitable conditions of employment. It contains provisions setting out minimum standards for wages as well as specified benefits and workplace policies. These provisions include standards relating to:

  • hours of work;
  • statutory holidays;
  • annual vacations;
  • minimum wage;
  • overtime pay;
  • payment of wages;
  • wage recovery;
  • termination of employment; and
  • unjust dismissal.Other Leave Provisions

The Code also contains provision for other types of leave from the workplace for qualifying workers. These include:

  • reservist leave;
  • maternity-related reassignment and leave;
  • maternity leave;
  • parental leave;
  • compassionate care leave; and
  • bereavement leave.

Other Protections

Workers are also protected from dismissal, suspension, layoff, demotion or discipline because of an absence from work due to illness or injury, including instances that are work-related.

Compliance

The Labour Program’s compliance activities are carried out in accordance with the government’s commitment to ensuring that all federally regulated workplaces are safe, fair and equitable environments. The Code contains provisions designed to support and encourage voluntary compliance. The Labour Program promotes compliance by implementing a range of enforcement tools and techniques. If required, it responds to non-compliance situations through various voluntary and non-voluntary measures.

Workplace standards help safeguard the rights of Canadian workers and employers, ensuring fair and cooperative employment conditions are maintained in all federally regulated workplaces.

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Date Modified:
2011-10-05