Employees are called the foundation of your business. As such, business owners must protect the rights of their employees and ensure their well-being and safety. Labour laws have been passed following this principle, which includes the various Labour Relations Acts by the federal and provincial governments.
But how do these labour relations laws apply for your businesses? In this article, we'll discuss the basics of these laws, along with other related labour law topics. For anything else that still confuses you as a newly minted employer, reaching out to a Lexpert-ranked labour lawyer is always a good idea.
What is the Labour Relations Act in Canada?
New employers should be aware that labour laws are divided into two:
- Labour standards: Talks about the basic terms and conditions of employment, and the minimum statutory standards for employees. These include laws on salaries and wages, hours of work, leaves (vacation, sickness, holiday), rules on termination of employment, redress against unfair labour practices, and other employment terms and conditions.
- Labour relations: Defines the relationship between the employer and its employees' organized union, specifically their rights and their obligations towards each other. For unionized employees, this is the law that covers their rights to go into collective bargaining with their employers and to go on strike. For businesses, this is the law that protects their right to lockout.
In Canada, laws on labour standards and labour relations are shared between the federal government and the provincial or territorial governments. However, the difference between these two lies in their jurisdiction and application:
- federal labour laws: apply to federally regulated industries and federal employees (e.g., banking, telecommunications, broadcasting, postal services, most Crown corporations)
- provincial or territorial labour laws: apply to all other workplaces or businesses in the private sector in that specific province or territory, such as those which are not covered by federal labour laws
This is why new businesses should be aware of both labour standards and labour relations law enacted by their own province or territory, which we'll discuss below.
Here's a video about labour relations for starters, which discusses its key components and its importance for businesses:
Learn more about the Labour Relations Act and other related laws by consulting the best labour relations lawyer in Canada as ranked by Lexpert.
How do labour relations laws matter for new businesses?
Each province and territory have their own laws on labour relations:
- Alberta: Labour Relations Code
- British Columbia: Labour Relations Code
- Manitoba: Labour Relations Act
- New Brunswick: Industrial Relations Act
- Newfoundland and Labrador: Labour Relations Act
- Nova Scotia: Trade Union Act
- Ontario: Labour Relations Act, 1995
- Prince Edward Island: Labour Act
- Québec: Labour Code
- Saskatchewan: Employment Act
We'll discuss the provisions that are common in these provincial and territorial labour relations laws:
Application of Labour Relations Act
Each provincial or territorial Labour Relations Act or Code only applies to the private sector and other industries that are not federally regulated. This includes new and existing businesses in that province or territory.
Exemptions to the application of provincial laws on labour relations
Under these laws on labour relations, certain employers and employees are exempted from their scope. This means that they might be covered by another law of that province or territory, such as:
- federal government employees, which are covered by the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act (FPSLRA)
- workers in federally regulated private industries, which are covered by Part I of the Canada Labour Code (CLC)
- those who are governed by other provincial labour relations laws, such as civil service employees, agricultural employees, teachers, police officers, etc.
To be sure, you can always consult with a labour lawyer to check the law that specifically applies to your workplace.
Organizing the employees' union
Businesses must respect the rights granted to their employees to organize themselves for collective bargaining and mutual support. To guide both businesses and their employees, a provincial or territorial Labour Relations Act or Code outlines the following:
- process and requirements of organizing a union (also called a trade union)
- prohibited acts on employers that may be committed during the union's formation
- duties and responsibilities of the union's officers and members
- unfair labour practices, both for employers and unions
- other regulations on union membership, such as the monetary obligations of unionized members
Prohibitions on employers
What's important here is that employers should know what they can and cannot do when dealing with the employees' trade union. For example, the following are the prohibitions on employers under Ontario's Labour Relations Act:
- preventing an employee from joining the trade union
- firing or disciplining an employee after joining the trade union
- discriminating employees because they are a member of the trade union
Right to collectively bargain
Collective bargaining is the process where the employer and the union negotiate the terms of employment in the organized establishment. Its aim is to come up with a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which is the contract between the two parties regarding these terms of employment.
Laws on labour relations provide the specific process for the birth and death of a CBA. This includes the process of certifying a union to become the bargaining agent of an employment unit and its grounds for revocation.
Employer's duties during collective bargaining
Under labour relations laws, both the employer and the union have the duty and obligation to collectively bargain in good faith with each other. The specific steps in collective bargaining are laid down in these laws.
For instance, BC's Labour Relations Code provides for the following:
- process of starting the collective bargaining process, where a notice must be sent first, either by the union or the employer
- the terms of the CBA, the period of its effectivity, and how both parties are bound to it until its expiry or renewal
- steps to resolve disputes during collective bargaining, such as conciliations, mediations, strikes, or lockouts
As business owners, it's important to know these processes, so that you know what your remedies are under the law. To learn more about the collective bargaining process, reach out to a labour relations lawyer in Ontario if your business is in this province.
Strikes and lockouts under Canadian labour law
Another highlight of the different Labour Relations Act or Code is its provisions on strikes and lockouts. It defines:
- the process of instituting a legal strike by the union, or a legal lockout by the employer
- the pre-requisites and the valid grounds where a strike or lockout may only be called for
- the prohibited acts during the actual conduct of a strike or lockout, and the penalties for the violators
- what is an illegal strike or illegal lockout, and the penalties on the persons who initiated the illegal act
One of the biggest strikes in Canada was the strike of Air Canada's flight attendants. Know more about this strike, what it means to other businesses, and how it ended (you won't see the story about people I know getting trapped by the strike in Singapore and making it home to Vancouver ...via New Zealand):
Learn more about strikes, and how to prevent one or to deal with one, by talking to the best law firms in Canada for labour relations as ranked by Lexpert.
Resolving disputes on labour relations
Labour relations law provides different methods of resolving labour disputes between the employer and the union. These disputes may arise out of the:
- terms and conditions of employment
- violation of any of the rights of the union, the employee, and the employer
- incidents of unfair labour practices
These methods are offered, either mandatorily or voluntarily, by the government office or agency governing labour issues in the province or territory.
These provisions also apply to labour relations in the construction sector. To learn more, contact one of Lexpert's top-ranked lawyers for labour relations in the construction sector.
How can lawyers help businesses in relation to labour laws?
Whether your business is large or small, you must immediately hire a labour lawyer so that things are done right at the very start. Labour lawyers can assist not just with labour relations, but also with the labour standards that you should be aware of.
Here are the things that you can bring up with your labour lawyer:
- hiring and termination, especially when engaging with immigrants
- minimum employment standards, such as wages and conditions
- matters on human rights and occupational health and safety
- negotiation of CBAs and the employer's obligations during this process
- dealing with an impending strike, and ending one when a strike is ongoing
- calling for a lockout, its grounds, and dealing with the union during a lockout
This list is a very short list of what a labour lawyer can do for you. In any case, reaching out to one can save you a lot of labour pains in the long run.
Labour Relations Act: A business's must-know law
While opening and running a business can be overwhelming, there's actually more to it, especially when you're reading several laws that you should be aware of. Since labour laws are as important as any other laws for your business, being in touch if a lawyer can help you comply with them. After all, following these laws is not just a simple obligation, but to protect the rights and safety of the backbone of your business: your employees.
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