Since 1872, Canada has come a long way in terms of employee rights. From the first annual Labor Day parade held in that year, the standard working hours in a week have reduced from 58 to a range of 40-48 hours. This is a clear demarcation that employment law practices have improved a lot, yet many employees still are not aware of their rights and obligations. Here are some of the helpful resources for you in this regard:
- Acts that protect Employment standards: Minimum work hours in a week, sick days, and vacation and severance provisions are the basic employment standards that are established by law and guarantees rights in the workplace. Approximately 90% of the employees and workers are protected by the employment laws of their province and each province has its legislation. The rest ten percent of employees work in places which are regulated federally and are administered by the federal labor standards.
- Acts That Cover Discrimination and Employment Equity: As per Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA), an employer cannot discriminate employees based on gender, race, ethnicity, age, etc and this has been regularly upgraded. Also, as per the Employment Equity Act (EEA), women, disabled people, aboriginal people,