Many people think that labour law and employment law are the same thing, however, this is not the case. Although both areas of law pertain to employment relationships and how they are governed, the areas of law are separate from each other because the relationships they deal with are not between the same types of people and the procedures, cases and laws involved are handled differently.

The applicable law governing your employment relationship and the standards to be followed, whether it be labour law related or employment law relate, will depend on if you are part of a provincial organization or a federal organization, as federal legislations and provincial legislations are different. Some examples of legislation that sets out the standards for both labour law and employment law include the Canada Labour Code, the Employment Standards Act, the Labour Relations Act, and the Human Rights Act.

Employment law deals with the employment relationship of an employer and employee, where there is no union involved. Not only does legislation set the standards that this employment relationship must follow, but case law also influences it. The employment contract and workplace policies and procedures will set out the terms of employment as wells as the rights and obligations of both the employee and employer. Job duties and responsibilities, wages, work hours, vacation, discipline, termination, and confidentiality are just a few things that will be established in an employment contract and the workplace policies and procedures.

If a dispute were to ever arise regarding an employment law matter such as a termination of employment, the case would end up in court or at a tribunal such as The Ministry of Labour (for Ontario employees), the Canada Industrial Relations Board (for Federal employees), the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board or the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.

Labour law also deals with the employment relationship of an employer and employee; however, the relationship is governed by a collective agreement negotiated between the employer and the union. Labour legislation sets the standards that this employment relationship must follow, such as strikes, collective bargaining, and the rights and obligations of employers, unions and the unions members. The collective agreement is the most vital document that governs this relationship and is created through the collective bargaining process.

If a dispute were to ever arise regarding a labour law matter such the union and employer not coming to an agreement on terms for the collective agreement, the case would be handled through a grievance and/or arbitration process, which would be set out in the collective agreement. Employees represented by a union will most likely only be able to use the court and tribunal systems if the dispute relates to human rights issues, such as discrimination.

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If you have any questions about labour law or employment law, our legal team will be more than happy to help! Please feel free to reach out to our office by calling us at (705) 268-6492 or emailing us at info@sdlawtimmins.com