Pizzadrivers.ca

DELIVERING YOUR PIECE OF THE PIE

WHAT IS THE EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS ACT?

In Canada, the Provincial Government is responsible for regulating Labour. The Employment Standards Act (ESA) is a piece of legislation, an Act, passed by the Ontario Government to protect and regulate hourly paid workers (usually low paid workers) on matters of safety, wages, benefits, and rights.

“The intent of the Act is clear. The harm the Act seeks to remedy is that individual employees, and in particular, non-union employees, are often in an unequal bargaining position in relation to their employer.”

 Ontario Labour Relations Board.

We believe many fast food delivery drivers are disadvantaged by their economic dependence and lack of bargaining power in their employment situations.   Accordingly, an interpretation of the Act that extends it’s protection to as many workers as possible is to be favored over one that does not.

All Provinces and Territories have similar Acts. The Act is modified from time to time by the Ontario Legislation (depending on the wishes of the Party in power). A copy can be obtained at www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/DBLaws/Statutes  

The problem is – the Act has an inconclusive list of qualifiers to determine who is an employee and who is an independent contractor. The real definition is left to common or case law.

In the ESA, a definition is given.

‘Part 1 Definitions’ the Act states this:

“employee” includes,

(a)     a person….who performs work for an employer for wages,

(b)     a person who supplies services to an employer for wages,

But what if the boss decided to pay you in bananas, or, as often the case with pizza drivers, per delivery, or the equivalent of three deliveries per hour when times are slow?  Yet the conditions you work under are those of other employees.  Are you an employee, or is the boss just trying to circumvent the law?

The Government has established the ONTARIO LABOUR RELATIONS BOARD to oversee and administer the ESA. The OLRB has certain powers to enforce the ESA, and to make rulings or ‘determinations’ including who is, and who is not an employee for the purposes of the ESA.