Work experience

The unpaid internship: Exploitation or opportunity?

April 18, 2016 Vey Willetts LLP Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Penalties and Fines, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring, Source Deductions and Reporting, Wages and Compensation

The use of unpaid interns has come under increased media and political scrutiny. Fuelled by horror stories of young interns collapsing under extreme workplace pressures, the issue reached the political agenda. In the summer of 2014, the Ontario Ministry of Labour carried out a highly publicized workplace inspection blitz to determine if intern rights were being respected. Rules governing the appropriate use of interns in Ontario are not new. They had been in place long before the summer 2014 blitz. The rules are set out in section 1(2) of the Employment Standards Act.

Canada labour Code, employment law, employment standards act, interns, internship, internship placement, minimum wage, Ontario Ministry of Labour, overtime pay, Public Holiday Pay, unpaid internships, vacation pay, Work experience, workplace inspection blitz

Ontario Human Rights Commission releases policy on removing the “Canadian experience” barrier

July 16, 2013 Simon Heath, BA, MIR, LLB, Heath Law Corporate Immigration, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, International HR Law, Recruiting and Hiring, Training and Development

On July 15, 2013, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (“OHRC”) released its Policy on Removing the “Canadian Experience” Barrier (the “Policy”) barrier. The purpose of the Policy is to address the fact that new immigrants, with university educations and/or work experience, are denied opportunities for jobs or career advancement because they lack “Canadian Experience” (i.e. Canadian based work experience) and their foreign educational qualification or work experience are not recognized.

accreditation requirement, ancestry, anti-discrimination policy, Canadian based work experience, canadian employment law, Canadian experience, Canadian experience barrier, Canadian Experience Class, colour, discrimination, employment law, ethnic origin, foreign education, hiring, HR Law, human rights code, human rights tribunal, immigrants, job opportunities, jobs or career advancement, obstacles immigrants face in securing employment, Ontario human rights commission, place or origin, policy, Policy on Removing the “Canadian Experience” Barrier, prohibited grounds, race, recruiting, recruitment, selection, Work experience

Internships and the law

March 26, 2012 Adam Gorley Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Recruiting and Hiring, Training and Development

You might have heard or read something in the past few months about internships—their status with respect to employment standards and whether it’s even legal to employ such workers without paying them. It’s no small issue. Many organizations rely on unpaid interns to do work for which they can’t afford to hire an employee proper…

employment law, employment relationship, intern or employee?, interns, internships, job experience, Ontario Ministry of Labour, trainee, unpaid interns, Work experience