Family Day
Dear Editor:
Re: Ontario: Happy Family Day, suckers
I don’t know how many people are aware of the fact that the government has given this holiday out to Provincial employees when most weren’t actually entitled to it in the first place. In the Employment Standards Act it sets out 9 statutory holidays (including Family Day) and sets out the rules in which all statutory holiday days are to be given with regard to pay and time off. In the section about qualification for the holidays it says that if you are covered by a Collective Agreement at your workplace and that agreement provides for a greater benefit than the designated holidays then your Collective Agreement supersedes the Act.
i. Those whose collective agreement or employment contract is more generous to them in relation to public holidays than the public holiday provisions in the ESA.
For example, if someone has an employment contract that provides them with 10 paid holidays a year, they would be receiving more than the ESA’s minimum requirement. This could be found to provide the employee with a greater right or benefit than the ESA’s holiday provisions (assuming that other aspects of the contract’s holiday provisions are at least as favourable to employees as the ESA holiday provisions). In this case, the holiday provisions of the employment contract would apply instead of those in the ESA.
Many non-union employees do not have written employment contracts. In such a case, it would have to be determined what the employee’s contractual entitlement for holidays was. In this regard, the employer’s past practice would likely be relevant. So, if an employer has a practice of giving staff more than nine paid holidays, and continues to adhere to that practice and the practice is in other respects at least as favourable to employees as the ESA holiday provisions, the employer would likely be found to be providing a greater right or benefit for holidays than the ESA provides. That employer would not be required to provide employees with Family Day off work, but would certainly be free to do so.
So I called the ESA office and asked them to clarify. They basically told me the same thing but stated that all the holidays in your Collective Agreement MUST be treated exactly the same as a statutory holiday with respect to pay (time and a half plus regular time) in order to be considered as a greater benefit. What I don’t understand is that Teachers get a greater benefit in their contract with all statutory holidays and the August 1st civic holiday. Why did they also get Family Day off? Why is it that the government can create an Act which forced me to work on Family Day and then go against that very same act that they created and give it to themselves? I can only speak about teachers because I am familiar with their bargaining agreement. I am sure many other government employees were given the day off in violation of the Act as well. I didn’t know who else to raise this question to so I hope you may be able to shed some light on it for me.
Thanks.
K. Ashby
