One day BAD was tired out after yelling at his workers all day. There had been an accident (one of
the press operators, Mike, crushed his finger and the other employees had stopped work to help him.)
That put the production behind which BAD would not tolerate. As a result the other employees had to
work 13 hours, with only one break at lunch time ?!?
a) An employee is entitled to an eating break every five hours.
b) An employee is entitled to an eating break and two coffee breaks.
c) An employee is there to work not eat.
BAD was addicted to junk food so after work he wolfed down 3 quarter pound Wendy’s and two
biggie fries and then he went to his favourite bar. After a few Boiler Makers he decided to go home to
sleep. He was divorced – living with BAD was even worse than working for him. BAD put on his
Spiderman pyjamas and crawled into his bed. He put his head on his pillow and fell into an uneasy
sleep.
Suddenly he began to have a nightmare, at least he thought it was a nightmare. He woke and saw a
long thin figure coming towards him with a huge book in its hand. The apparition moved closer and
closer to BAD so that he felt a chill coming from it. The figure flipped pages of the book making an
eerie sound. A hollow voice came up from the depths of the ghost, and this voice said –I am the spirit
of the ESA – the Employment Standards Act of Ontario. You BAD have not paid attention to its rules
and now you will suffer the consequences. Your workers have been exploited, disadvantaged,
humiliated and they have received less money than they should have. Before you are punished BAD
lets look at how you have treated your workers.
John, a press operator came to you for a job. You offered him $7 an hour and told him that because
he was new to the job and he had to learn he would not be paid for the first two weeks? Tell me Basil
Boss – what is the minimum age in Ontario?
a) $7 an hour
b) $10.35 an hour
c) $8.75 an hour
Does a worker in training get paid?
a) Yes
b) No
ESA sighed and his cold breath touched BAD’s sweating face, scaring him even more.
Bill came to work for you and you told him that your company did not pay overtime. He would get
the same amount for each hour he worked….Now BAD what is the rule about overtime?
a) No extra pay for overtime.
b) Once you have worked 44 hours in a week you are paid overtime at time and a half.
c) An additional $1 an hour after you have worked 80 hours in a week.
You don’t know? but you are obliged to know all of this by law, after all you are the boss -- and his
breath surrounded BAD with a halo of ice --- What are workers paid on a holiday ?
a) A special holiday pay.
b) Their regular wage.
Louise came to work in the office as your human resources clerk and you told her that her pay would
be a little more because YOU did not deduct any money for CPP and EI?? Are required to deduct
those things for an employee - you told her that she had to work as an independent contractor – What
did that mean BAD?
She became ill with a stress related condition, could not work and when she tried to get her E.I. sick
benefits she could not since no contributions had been made for her.
YOU said that you believed in self reliance so you would not sign up the company with WSIB.
Mike had crushed his hand and when he tried to make a WSIB claim he discovered you had not
signed up the company for WSIB benefits. YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!!!
ESA laid a shadowy hand on BAD’s shoulder and the cold of the fingers made his bones ache. You
do not have a poster outlining your workers’ rights posted in the workplace so that everyone can see
it. You know that I require you to do this.
BAD was beginning to shake and moan. He could not bear the icy fingers of ESA but ESA placed his
other bony hand on BAD and pressed him back against the pillow. Saying
What about Richard – his wife was extremely ill with a serious illness which might lead to her death
and he asked for leave to care for her and you told him if he left he would not be able to come back
to work ?
a) Workers are not entitled to any job protection if they take leave in these circumstances.
b) Workers are entitled to family medical leave.
What about Jane – who told you she was having a baby and you fired her on the spot?
a) Pregnant workers are entitled to job protected leave.
b) BAD did the right thing.
What about Peter who had worked for you for three years and you laid him off because of lack of
work. You did not give him any notice and you did not pay him anything when he left although he
had not had a vacation for over a year?
a) Peter was entitled to a weeks notice.
b) In this economy Peter is lucky he had a job for as long as he did.
c) Peter was entitled to 3 weeks’notice and vacation pay of 4% of annual earnings.
ESA’s voice rattled in his throat as he listed off all these things that BAD had done. BAD said - this is
only a dream I must wake up. ESA took his ghostly finger and ran it across the back of BAD’s right
hand-the pain was excruciating and BAD looked down to see a swollen red mark. ESA growled – this
mark will stay with you as a reminder of how you must act in the future and then he drifted away.
BAD lay in bed and slept restlessly until his alarm woke him up in the morning. Strange, his alarm
which normally woke him to CKWW was playing Solidarity Forever, Immediately he remembered
his nightmare but blamed it on his dinner and the Boiler Makers. His right hand itched and he looked
down to see a red scar running across it and then his knees shook. He resolved to get a copy of the
ESA and follow all the rules. Happy times for his workers.
If you want to know more about employment standards including how to file a claim click here.
the press operators, Mike, crushed his finger and the other employees had stopped work to help him.)
That put the production behind which BAD would not tolerate. As a result the other employees had to
work 13 hours, with only one break at lunch time ?!?
a) An employee is entitled to an eating break every five hours.
b) An employee is entitled to an eating break and two coffee breaks.
c) An employee is there to work not eat.
BAD was addicted to junk food so after work he wolfed down 3 quarter pound Wendy’s and two
biggie fries and then he went to his favourite bar. After a few Boiler Makers he decided to go home to
sleep. He was divorced – living with BAD was even worse than working for him. BAD put on his
Spiderman pyjamas and crawled into his bed. He put his head on his pillow and fell into an uneasy
sleep.
Suddenly he began to have a nightmare, at least he thought it was a nightmare. He woke and saw a
long thin figure coming towards him with a huge book in its hand. The apparition moved closer and
closer to BAD so that he felt a chill coming from it. The figure flipped pages of the book making an
eerie sound. A hollow voice came up from the depths of the ghost, and this voice said –I am the spirit
of the ESA – the Employment Standards Act of Ontario. You BAD have not paid attention to its rules
and now you will suffer the consequences. Your workers have been exploited, disadvantaged,
humiliated and they have received less money than they should have. Before you are punished BAD
lets look at how you have treated your workers.
John, a press operator came to you for a job. You offered him $7 an hour and told him that because
he was new to the job and he had to learn he would not be paid for the first two weeks? Tell me Basil
Boss – what is the minimum age in Ontario?
a) $7 an hour
b) $10.35 an hour
c) $8.75 an hour
Does a worker in training get paid?
a) Yes
b) No
ESA sighed and his cold breath touched BAD’s sweating face, scaring him even more.
Bill came to work for you and you told him that your company did not pay overtime. He would get
the same amount for each hour he worked….Now BAD what is the rule about overtime?
a) No extra pay for overtime.
b) Once you have worked 44 hours in a week you are paid overtime at time and a half.
c) An additional $1 an hour after you have worked 80 hours in a week.
You don’t know? but you are obliged to know all of this by law, after all you are the boss -- and his
breath surrounded BAD with a halo of ice --- What are workers paid on a holiday ?
a) A special holiday pay.
b) Their regular wage.
Louise came to work in the office as your human resources clerk and you told her that her pay would
be a little more because YOU did not deduct any money for CPP and EI?? Are required to deduct
those things for an employee - you told her that she had to work as an independent contractor – What
did that mean BAD?
She became ill with a stress related condition, could not work and when she tried to get her E.I. sick
benefits she could not since no contributions had been made for her.
YOU said that you believed in self reliance so you would not sign up the company with WSIB.
Mike had crushed his hand and when he tried to make a WSIB claim he discovered you had not
signed up the company for WSIB benefits. YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!!!
ESA laid a shadowy hand on BAD’s shoulder and the cold of the fingers made his bones ache. You
do not have a poster outlining your workers’ rights posted in the workplace so that everyone can see
it. You know that I require you to do this.
BAD was beginning to shake and moan. He could not bear the icy fingers of ESA but ESA placed his
other bony hand on BAD and pressed him back against the pillow. Saying
What about Richard – his wife was extremely ill with a serious illness which might lead to her death
and he asked for leave to care for her and you told him if he left he would not be able to come back
to work ?
a) Workers are not entitled to any job protection if they take leave in these circumstances.
b) Workers are entitled to family medical leave.
What about Jane – who told you she was having a baby and you fired her on the spot?
a) Pregnant workers are entitled to job protected leave.
b) BAD did the right thing.
What about Peter who had worked for you for three years and you laid him off because of lack of
work. You did not give him any notice and you did not pay him anything when he left although he
had not had a vacation for over a year?
a) Peter was entitled to a weeks notice.
b) In this economy Peter is lucky he had a job for as long as he did.
c) Peter was entitled to 3 weeks’notice and vacation pay of 4% of annual earnings.
ESA’s voice rattled in his throat as he listed off all these things that BAD had done. BAD said - this is
only a dream I must wake up. ESA took his ghostly finger and ran it across the back of BAD’s right
hand-the pain was excruciating and BAD looked down to see a swollen red mark. ESA growled – this
mark will stay with you as a reminder of how you must act in the future and then he drifted away.
BAD lay in bed and slept restlessly until his alarm woke him up in the morning. Strange, his alarm
which normally woke him to CKWW was playing Solidarity Forever, Immediately he remembered
his nightmare but blamed it on his dinner and the Boiler Makers. His right hand itched and he looked
down to see a red scar running across it and then his knees shook. He resolved to get a copy of the
ESA and follow all the rules. Happy times for his workers.
If you want to know more about employment standards including how to file a claim click here.
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| The Ghost of the ESA |
The Employment Standards Act is a law in the Province of Ontario which sets out rules and
responsibilities for workers and employers. There are certain groups which are not governed by the
Act such as independent contractors. This story will concentrate on the Act as it applies to most
workers in Ontario. A union may negotiate a contract which is more advantageous to the worker but
no one can contract for less than what is set out in the Act. Follow the links for more about this
subject but in the meantime have fun with this learning exercise.
Now the ghost story. This is interactive – you will be able to
click on the answers and find out whether you are correct.
Good Luck!
responsibilities for workers and employers. There are certain groups which are not governed by the
Act such as independent contractors. This story will concentrate on the Act as it applies to most
workers in Ontario. A union may negotiate a contract which is more advantageous to the worker but
no one can contract for less than what is set out in the Act. Follow the links for more about this
subject but in the meantime have fun with this learning exercise.
Now the ghost story. This is interactive – you will be able to
click on the answers and find out whether you are correct.
Good Luck!
Mr. Basil Andrew Douglas Boss (we will call him BAD) had a
shop employing 60 people which produced auto parts. He was a
hands on boss, in the shop every day and watching his
employees closely. He thought that he could do whatever he
wanted to get the job done and he pushed to reach the daily quota
of parts.
shop employing 60 people which produced auto parts. He was a
hands on boss, in the shop every day and watching his
employees closely. He thought that he could do whatever he
wanted to get the job done and he pushed to reach the daily quota
of parts.