"Scheduling" Provisions Amended As The Ontario Bill 148 Advances To Second Reading

Scheduling of work under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 ("ESA") is one of several sections in Bill 148 affected by recent amendments.

Currently, the ESA does not regulate an employer's right to schedule work, aside from providing that an employee who attends a scheduled shift must receive at least three hours' pay, even if the shift is shorter. Bill 148 not only includes this existing "3-hour rule", but also expands it considerably, as follows.

Employers will be required to pay employees who are on call a minimum of three hours' pay at their regular rate if they are not called in, or if they are called in but work less than three hours. Further, employees who are scheduled to work or be on call will be entitled to three hours' pay at their regular rate if their shift or on-call period is cancelled within 48 hours of its scheduled start time.