Major Changes Coming to Some People’s Paycheques in Brampton

Brampton | Ontario | Business | Latest News |

Published March 19, 2018 at 10:00 pm

If you feel you’ve been underpaid for the work you’ve done, you might be happy to hear that the province is working to ensure you’re compensated fairly for your work.

If you feel you’ve been underpaid for the work you’ve done, you might be happy to hear that the province is working to ensure you’re compensated fairly for your work.

The government of Ontario recently announced that on April 1, Ontario will become the first jurisdiction in North America to mandate equal pay for equal work between casual, part-time, temporary and seasonal workers, as well as 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, 201 –the same act that increased minimum wage of $14 an hour on January 1, 2018 (and which will further increase it to $15 an hour on January 1, 2019).

The government says other provisions of the act have already come into force, including more paid vacation time for employees with five years of employment with the same employer, and expanding and increasing several leaves of absence.

The province says a report found that differential treatment based on part-time, casual, temporary contract or seasonal status was an unfair practice that affects one in four employees, particularly women, youth, older employees and minorities doing precarious work.

“Paying people the same wage for doing the same work is not only fair, it’s the right thing to do. Fairness and decency must be the defining values of our workplaces,” says Kevin Flynn, Minister of Labour. “These changes will ensure that every hard-working Ontarian has a chance to reach their full potential and share in Ontario’s prosperity.”

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