On April 1, 2018, Ontario will become the first jurisdiction in North America to mandate equal pay for equal work between casual, part-time, temporary and seasonal workers, and full-time or permanent workers.
Under the new rules, casual, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees cannot be paid at a rate of pay less than full-time or permanent employees if:
- They do substantially the same kind of work, in the same establishment
- Their work requires substantially the same skill, effort and responsibility
- Their work is performed under similar working conditions
Temporary help agencies also will not be permitted to pay assignment employees at a rate less than employees directly hired by the agency’s clients under these same conditions.
These changes are the result of the province’s Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 – representing the largest update to Ontario’s labour laws in a generation. The government raised the minimum wage to $14 an hour on January 1, 2018, and will further increase it to $15 an hour on January 1, 2019.
Protecting employees and supporting businesses across Ontario is part of this government’s plan to create fairness and opportunity during this period of rapid economic change. The plan includes a higher minimum wage and fair workplace standards, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, easier access to affordable child care, and free prescription drugs for everyone under 25 through the biggest expansion of Medicare in a generation.
Additional Resources
- Learn more about your employment rights
- What businesses need to know about employment standards
March 15, 2018, Ministry of Labour
Source: https://news.ontario.ca/mol/en/2018/03/new-rules-mandating-equal-pay-for-equal-work-to-come-into-effect-april-1.html
