The Working for Workers Five Act: Elevating Ontario’s Workforce and Ensuring Fairness

It’s essential to stay informed about legislative changes that impact how we manage our teams. The Ontario government’s introduction of the Working for Workers Five Act, 2024 marks a significant step forward in employee protections and support. This act builds on previous versions, aiming to enhance pathways into skilled trades, remove employment barriers, protect frontline workers, support women at work, and ensure fairness for jobseekers and employees. Here’s what you need to know to keep your business compliant and competitive.

Increasing Fairness for Jobseekers and Employees

Creating transparency and accountability is key:

• Job Posting Transparency: Employers now need to disclose whether a position is vacant in job postings and respond to candidates they’ve interviewed.
• Higher Penalties for Employment Standards Act (ESA) Violations: Fines for individual offenders will double, and penalties for repeat offenders will increase, making Ontario’s penalties some of the highest in Canada.
• Minimum Wage Increase: Effective October 1, 2024, the minimum wage will rise from $16.55 to $17.20 per hour, in line with the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Protecting Frontline Workers

Ensuring the health and safety of workers remains a priority:

• Presumptive Coverage for Occupational Illnesses: The required service duration for firefighters to qualify for coverage for primary-site skin cancer will be lowered, and coverage will be expanded to wildland firefighters and fire investigators.
• Virtual Compliance: Employers can use electronic copies of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and hold virtual joint health and safety committee meetings.
• Sick Leave: Employers can’t require sick notes for job-protected sick leave, reducing the burden on healthcare professionals.

Supporting Women at Work

Creating a more inclusive workplace is crucial:

• Menstrual Products on Construction Sites: These will be required for projects with 20 or more regularly employed workers, addressing a key concern for menstruating individuals.
• Clean and Sanitary Washrooms: Ensuring facilities are maintained and records kept is now mandatory, responding to advocacy from female-identifying workers in construction.
• Protection Against Virtual Harassment: The definition of harassment now includes virtual harassment, reflecting the shift towards digital work environments.

Launching the Skilled Trades

Making skilled trades more accessible:

• Focused Apprenticeship Skills Training (FAST): This expands the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP), allowing high school students to earn cooperative education credits while gaining hands-on apprenticeship experience.
• Online Job-Matching Portal: A new platform will connect apprentices, journeypersons, and employers, simplifying the job search process.
• Alternative Pathways: For those considering a second career in the trades, prior professional experience will be recognized, even if they don’t meet the usual academic requirements.

Removing Employment Hurdles

Streamlining processes for internationally trained workers and modernizing the foreign credential system:

• Concurrent Registration Processes: Regulated professions will handle multiple registration steps simultaneously, reducing waiting times.
• Outcomes-Oriented Credentialing: Professions must accept alternative documentation when standard documents are unattainable due to external factors like war or natural disasters.
• In-Demand Skills Stream Expansion: More occupations will be included, and decision-making within the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) will be sped up to attract skilled workers more efficiently.

How to Prepare for the Workers for Workers Act? RLB People Can Help!

These comprehensive efforts by the Ontario government to enhance workforce development, ensure workplace fairness, and protect employee rights will significantly impact businesses. Here’s how you can get ready:

1. Conduct a Compensation Review: A compensation review is crucial to ensure your company’s pay structure aligns with industry standards, company goals, and legal requirements. This review involves analyzing salaries, benefits, and other compensation elements to stay competitive and foster employee satisfaction.
2. Perform an HR and Safety Compliance Health Check/Audit: Reviewing and ensuring compliance with the ESA and OHSA can be daunting. RLB provides HR and Safety health checks to identify and correct any gaps that might create risks under ESA and/or OHSA.
3. Review Your Recruitment Process: From job analysis to employment checks, recruiting talent is challenging. RLB People offers direct hire recruitment services and expert advice on improving recruitment processes, including technology, interview methods, and skill testing options.
4. Assess Your Inclusive Workplace Initiatives: Providing an inclusive workplace boosts psychological safety, engagement, and overall employee satisfaction. RLB People helps businesses launch programs and initiatives to build inclusiveness and handle sensitive situations like harassment allegations with trained experts.

Embracing these initiatives not only meets legal obligations but also strengthens your workforce’s overall health and productivity. Contact RLB People today to ensure you’re ready for the Workers for Workers Act.

To find out more about the wide variety of services RLB People can provide you with contact the team at people@rlb.ca or visit their website at people.rlb.ca.