[TITLE: What to expect during an Employment Standards Inspection]
[Ministry inspector Ali Sheik is seen driving in an Ontario fleet car to an office. He speaks to the camera.]
ALI SHEIK >> The role of an Employment Standards Officer is to conduct inspections and investigations.
[TITLE: Employment Standards Officers travel all over the province to inspect workplaces.]
ALI SHEIK >> These inspections make sure employers are complying with their responsibilities under the Provincial Employment Standards Act. Officers focus on standards such as:
Posting the Employment Standards poster in the workplace and distributing it to employees, timely, accurate wage statements…with no unauthorized deductions, accurate record keeping, proper hours of work and eating periods, accurate overtime pay, adherence to minimum wage, public holidays, and vacation pay standards and restricting temporary help agencies from charging fees to employees.
[TITLE: Preparing for an inspection]
MAUREEN SANDS >> My name is Maureen Sands and I’m an Employment Standards officer and when I conduct an inspection I typically give an employer 10 days written notice when that inspection will take place.
[Maureen Sands is seen looking going through documents and online information to evaluate the business being inspected]
MAUREEN SANDS >> This gives the employer an opportunity to get their records available. It also gives us time to do our preparation. We check the legal name of the business, whether it is still active, and we'll look at their claims and inspections history, and we will also check to see if the workplace is unionized.
We generally don’t conduct inspections in unionized workplaces. They have their own dispute resolution process to follow. We supply written notification of the inspection to the employer along with web-links to review their responsibilities. The notification also provides the officer’s contact information for any questions about the inspection.
[Phone rings on a desk in an office. Ali Sheik picks it up and answers. An employer is seen speaking with Sheik over the phone. ]
ALI SHEIK >> Ministry of Labour, Ali Sheik speaking.
EMPLOYER >> Hi, I’ve received a notice of inspection and I was just wondering why it is that our workplace is being inspected?
MAUREEN SANDS >> Workplaces are selected through a variety of methods. These may include: Third party information, local intelligence, or random selection as part of a sector-specific enforcement blitz.
In some cases, we may also re-inspect a workplace to make sure that past violations have been corrected. During an inspection the Employment Standards Officer will take a look at a number of records which may include: schedules, time sheets, payroll ledgers and wage statements. The notice that we send out to employers also indicates important information about the Employment Standards poster.
[TITLE: The day of the inspection]
ALI SHEIK >> [Speaking in an interview] The procedure is we arrive at the workplace and meet the employer or their authorized representative.
[Ali Sheik enters the workplace and meets with the employer]
ALI SHEIK >> [Speaking to employer] I’m Ali Sheik. I’m an Employment Standards Officer with the Ministry of Labour. I’m here to do an inspection.
EMPLOYER >> I’ve been expecting you. Come with me, the records are in my office.
ALI SHEIK >> [Speaking in an interview] We review a variety of documents that relate to the Employment Standards Act. Beginning with an employer interview to determine compliance with the ESA.
We also take time to answer any questions an employer may have about their responsibilities. During the inspection, I will ask the employer to show me where in the workplace they have posted the Employment Standards poster. I will make sure the poster is correct and it's in a conspicuous place for the employees to see.
We also interview employees selected at random.
[Sheik approaches an employee to interview her]
ALI SHEIK >> [speaking to employee] Hi there. As a part of my inspection today I’m conducting interviews. You’ve been randomly selected. Do you mind speaking with me for a couple of minutes?
EMPLOYEE >> Sure. Absolutely.
ALI SHEIK >>[Speaking in an interview] If I have reason to believe that there is not going to be adequate privacy to properly interview employees, I will make that known to the employer and let the employer know that I require a place that is comfortable, and that is isolated from the rest of the workforce or work environment.
During the inspection some documents are going to be required from the employer to prove the various standards are being complied with. We then use the documents provided by the employer to perform a test audit.
The test audit involves the selection and review of payroll and other records. We randomly select employees to determine that at least the minimum standards are being met.
[TITLE: If no problems are found at the inspection]
[Sheik is seen handing a copy of his report to the employer]
ALI SHEIK >>When I finish the test audit, if I find there is compliance with all standards that were inspected, I will then issue an inspection report which outlines the steps that I took and the findings I have made. The file is then closed.
[TITLE: If problems are found at the inspection]
MAUREEN SANDS >> If it's been found that an employer has contravened the Employment Standards Act, a full-audit or self-audit may be conducted for a set period of time.
ALI SHEIK >> If I determine that the employer has contravened the ESA I may take enforcement actions such as: issuing a ticket, issuing a Notice of Contravention or in some cases recommending a Part Three prosecution under the Provincial Offences Act.
MAUREEN SANDS >>When the audit is completed, the employer is asked to voluntarily comply and correct any of the issues that were identified during the inspection. If wages are owed to employees we will ask the employer to pay those wages.
ALI SHEIK >> If the employer does not comply voluntarily, I will issue an order to pay for the amounts that are outstanding.
MAUREEN SANDS >> When the inspection is completed, the officer will provide the employer with an inspection report which is required to be posted.
ALI SHEIK >> And the employer is asked to complete a Notification of Compliance indicating the dates upon which compliance has been achieved.
MAUREEN SANDS >> When the notification of compliance form is returned to the officer the inspection is closed; however, the employer can be identified for a re-inspection at a later date to still ensure compliance.
ALI SHEIK >> For more information on your Rights and Responsibilities under the Employment Standards Act, please visit our website.
[TITLE: ontario.ca/employmentstandards | 1-800-531-5551]