In Quebec, the Act respecting labour standards protects most employees by providing minimum acceptable working conditions.
The Act respecting labour standards applies to most employees in Quebec, including those working remotely (for example, working from home). An employee is someone who works for an employer and receives a salary.
The Act respecting labour standards says what is legally acceptable regarding working conditions. It sets out minimum standards on the following subjects:
An employer can always offer better working conditions than those guaranteed by the Act respecting labour standards but can never impose working conditions inferior to those guaranteed by this law.
If an employer does not respect these minimum standards, they could face fines or lawsuits. An employee dealing with a labour standards problem can contact the the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) for assistance.
Construction workers benefit from the protections against forced retirement and psychological and sexual harassment. In addition, they have the right to ten days of unpaid leave a year for family reasons and to parental leave. However, they are excluded from other rights under this law.
Managers are not generally protected by the Act respecting labour standards. However, they do benefit from some of its protections. For example, they have the right to unpaid leave for family reasons. They are also protected against psychological and sexual harassment, and forced retirement.
To be legally considered a “manager” an employee must have a significant decision-making authority. The job title of “supervisor” or “manager” does not automatically make someone a manager for the purposes of labour standards.
For example, an employee who supervises a team in a big company, and has a weekly meeting with a section head who sets out the tasks to be completed by the team, might still be considered a non-managerial employee.
The following employees benefit only from the law’s protections against psychological and sexual harassment and forced retirement:
Although these people are excluded from all the other rights and protections under this law, their work contracts or other laws might offer them protection.
Legal standards may differ according to the type of work a person is doing. In particular, different labour standards apply to domestic workers, agricultural workers, and workers in the clothing sector. Some other categories of work involve minor exceptions to the usual labour standards.
Here are two examples:
If an employer sends an employee to work outside of Quebec, the employee is still protected by the Act Respecting Labour Standards. This law applies to employees wherever they carry out their work.
If the employer has a business, headquarters, factory, place of business, or office in Quebec, that employer must respect the Act.
Some workers are not covered by this law. For example, self-employed workers, that is, people who run their own businesses.
People working in companies governed by federal laws are also excluded. This is the case for employees of:
The labour standards for these people are in the Canada Labour Code, which is a federal law.
Important!
The Act respecting labour standards doesn’t apply to unpaid trainees. As for paid trainees, some rules in the Act respecting labour standards don’t apply to them.
That being said, these trainees also have rights when it comes to taking time off and being protected from workplace harassment. You can contact the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST or labour standards, pay equity and workplace health and safety board) to find out more.
The Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST or labour standards, pay equity and workplace health and safety board) is in charge, amongst other things, of applying the Act respecting labour standards and informing the public about workplace rules.
It also receives complaints from employees, investigates these complaints and, if necessary, compensates employees according to the law. The CNESST is also responsible for trying to get employers and employees to resolve their disputes about labour standards.
Finally, the CNESST has the power to sue an employer to recover money that the employer should have paid to an employee but which the Commission paid instead.
