Basic Labour Laws Guidelines

Labour laws protect everybody in Canada, whether Canadian-born, a landed immigrant, a refugee or a Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW). They are covered under the Employment Standards Act (ESA). TFWs are also protected under the Employment Protection for Foreign Nationals Act (EPFNA), which includes additional regulations.

These additional additions were made to protect vulnerable foreign nationals who may be unaware of their rights.

No employer can:

• Charge any fees or recover any costs, including any related to the hiring process (with one exception related to some seasonal agriculture workers)

• Take property and documents, such as a passport or work permit.

• Intimidate or penalize for asking about or asserting their rights under the EPFNA

In the farming industry, there are four categories under which an employee falls under. Different rules and standards apply to each category:

• Farm Employees are a direct part of the primary production of certain agricultural products.

• Harvesters are employed on a farm to harvest or bring in crops of fruit and vegetables or tobacco for marketing or storage.

• Near farmers work around the industry that includes growing flowers or trees and shrubs for retail and wholesale trade, growing, transporting and laying sod, breeding and boarding horses on a farm and keeping fur-bearing mammals.

• Landscape gardeners are those who work directly on the property.

Employees can fall under more than one category, but how they spend most of their time at work determines which rules and standards apply.

Farm Employers must receive:

• Regular payment of wages and wage statements

• Leaves of absence

• Termination notice and/or pay and severance pay

• Equal pay for equal work

Harvesters must receive:

• Regular payment of wages and wage statements

• Leaves of absence

• Termination notice and/or pay and severance pay

• Equal pay for equal work

• Minimum wage (special rules apply for harvesters who are paid on a piece-work basis

• Vacation with pay (after being employed for 13 weeks as a harvester)

• Public holidays (after being employed for 13 consecutive weeks as a harvester)

Near Farmers must receive:

• Regular payment of wages and wage statements

• Leaves of absence

• Termination notice and/or pay and severance pay

• Equal pay for equal work

• Minimum wage

• Vacation with pay

Landscape Gardeners must receive:

• Regular payment of wages and wage statements

• Leaves of absence

• Termination notice and/or pay and severance pay

• Equal pay for equal work

• Minimum wage

• Eating periods and daily, weekly and biweekly rest periods

• Vacation with pay

And despite the many hazards innate within farming, there must be standards of safety that are adhered to, with steep penalties given to farm owners and operators who break these rules.

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture has created an easy guide to help farm owners and operators keep their employees safe.