Do start-ups need to think about Human Resources or any form of HR support? The answer is –yes! The moment you hire your first employee, or you hire an independent contractor, you have created a requirement for human resources considerations.
HR can be broken into three specific areas.
1. Employment Standards Act (ESA)
2. Occupational Safety and Health Act
3. Human Rights Code (HRC)
The first two, fall under the Ministry of Labour (MOL), the Human Rights code falls under the Ontario Human Rights Commission. Let’s take a look at what each one covers.
The ESA (Employment Standards Acts)
This governance area deals with the specific rights and considerations that are due to every employee. As an employer, you need to ensure that you are always compliant with all legislated requirements. The onus is on employers to keep abreast of all changes and make the necessary updates to their organization’s policies and practices, such as requirement for minimum wage, payroll requirements and termination requirements.
Did you know that during the COVID-19 Pandemic the Government made temporary changes to the ESA that are currently in place until September 25th 2021? It is vital as a small business owner that you stay current and understand how the temporary changes affect your business and your employees.
For more information on ESA please click here .
Occupational Safety and Health Act
This legislation focuses on the health and safety of workers. Did you know that regardless of your organizational structure; full-time employees or independent contractors, the Health and Safety Act defines all as “workers”, there is no defined difference.
As an employer, or if you are paying an employer to carry out certain work, your company must ensure that each employee is made aware of the hazards in your workplace. You must then ensure that employees are properly trained about all hazards and how to protect themselves by providing proper health and safety awareness training.
For more information on health and safety please click here .
Human Rights Code (HRC)
This area focuses on protecting human rights of anyone who is a contract worker or an employee of your company. It is your responsibility to ensure that your business does not allow discrimination or harassment of any kind regarding race, age, gender, creed, sexual identity, etc. As a business owner it is your responsibility to ensure that your company’s practices always adhere to the HRC code, even during the process of hiring new employees.
For more information on the Human Rights Code please click here .
Policies and Training
Setting up policies and training your employees goes hand-in-hand with understanding the various legislations and ensuring your organization is compliant. What training and policies should be set up? Here is an overview of what recommend to our clients.
Health and Safety Awareness Training for Workers and Supervisors:
- By law training is required for employees regardless of size or type of employee (full-time, part-time, independent contractors etc.)
Respectful Workplace:
- This includes Harassment, Discrimination and Non-Violence
- Under the Human Right Code requirements and Occupational Health & Safety Act, all business with five or more employees must have a written policy.
- It is also necessary for all employers, regardless of size to ensure workers are trained
Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS):
- Required for all workers who work with or who are exposed to hazardous substances
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI):
- An optional type of training, however, top employers provide this training to differentiate and attracted diverse talent
It can be daunting as a new business owner to even know where to begin when addressing HR issues. It is important to take the time to assess where, how and when you need to be compliant in your day-to-day practices.
A solid Human Resources foundation shows that you’re committed to having a solid, secure and healthy environment for your staff. Most importantly, it also protects you as the employer. Ensuring that you are compliant and that you have policies in place and have provided training where applicable to your employees, will give you a sense of security so you can focus on managing and growing your new business.
You can breathe a bit easier knowing that you do not need a full-time HR manager when you start your new business to understand all of these legislations. The experts at ThryvX focus on helping businesses, just like yours, get set up from an HR perspective. We can be available on-site or remotely. We make sure that everything is in place and your organization is compliant, protected and your employees trained so that you can focus on growing your organization.
