October 24th, 2023 at 05:49 am

Foreign Worker’s Employment Rights in Canada | All You Need to Know

With the increasing number of foreign nationals traveling to Canada for work opportunities, it is critical to discuss foreign workers’ employment rights. Furthermore, under Canadian law, every Canadian has the right to equality in the workplace. They are entitled to an atmosphere free of discrimination.

Employment Rights of Foreign Workers in Canada

The Canadian federal government’s legislation dictates the Canada Labour Code, which further explains the rights and obligations of both employers and employees. These, however, apply to sectors subject to federal restrictions, such as banking and telecommunications companies. Provincial and territorial laws govern the remaining occupations. Furthermore, each province or territory will have its own set of workforce and employment regulations. This legislation will concern the quantity of working hours, working conditions, and equitable compensation.

Canada also has the Employment Equity Act and the Federal Contractors Program. Both of these efforts empower firms to work toward increasing job possibilities for specific Canadian communities. These specifically require businesses and firms subject to federal rules to provide equal opportunities to women, people with disabilities, and members of visible minority groups.

Employment Rights of Foreign Workers in the Workplace

In general, Canadian laws protect all workers resident in Canada, including foreign nationals. This also means they have the right to work pay, a safe working environment, and to keep their work permit and passport.

These international workers must keep in mind that their company must present them with an employment agreement on or before their start date. Furthermore, the agreement must include important information about the worker’s wage, occupation, and working circumstances. The worker and their employer must reach an agreement and sign a contract in either English or French.

Before dissolving a working agreement, the employer of a foreign national worker must also present a solid cause. If they fail to offer any legitimate documentation for the same, they must pay the termination fee. The amount of termination pay will depend on the foreign employee’s prior employment history with that business as well as the province or territory in which they might be based.

Workplace health and safety

A Canadian employer must ensure that the foreign worker has a safe and secure working environment. They must also provide quality job-specific training while keeping the employee’s safety in mind. This may even include training sessions for the usage of certain machines and equipment as needed.

Foreign workers must remember that they cannot be forced to labor in a risky or threatening environment. Furthermore, an employer cannot refuse to pay a worker who refuses to work in a dangerous situation.

Employees have the right to notify their employer of any foreseeable hazard at their workplace. In such a case, the employer must take the situation seriously and take appropriate action.

The employee must realize that they may refuse to work until the employee and employer reach an agreement based on the following terms:

• The threatening scenario no longer exists and has been thoroughly investigated.
• If the employee has received the relevant training and equipment,

Making your workplace abuse-free

The employer must take the initiative to create a safe workplace for international workers. Furthermore, this implies that the concerned employer or another person acting in the capacity of an employer has no right to financially, sexually, physically, or psychologically exploit the worker.

The Canadian government’s website publicly warns workers that any situation in which they feel terrified, dominated, or isolated may be abusive. Take a hard look at the following points, for example:

• Threats or insults on a regular basis.
• A sexual touch that you don’t like.
• Physical injury of any type.
• Attempting to control who you can meet and where you can go
• Theft of any kind.
• Not returning the money owed to you and retaining it for themselves.
• Bring your identifying documents, such as a passport or work permit. Refusing to give them back to you
• Making you work for any bogus company.
• Threatening you with job termination, demotion, or disciplinary action if you report their noncompliance. Furthermore, they seek to discourage you from registering complaints regarding working conditions and mistreatment.

Employment Rights of Foreign Workers: Making Changes in the Workplace

Any employer may face difficult scenarios in which they must make changes to accommodate new overseas personnel. They may need to be extra cautious to avoid any form of ill-treatment or discrimination at work. In this manner, the employee will feel secure enough to continue working. This is essentially an endeavor by the company to eliminate all forms of workplace discrimination.

The Canadian Human Rights Act specifies the eleven grounds for discrimination listed below:

• National or ethnic origin;
• Religion;
• Age;
• Color;
• Race;
• Sex;
• Marital Status;
• Family Status;
• Sexual Orientation;
• record that is suspended or a prior conviction for which the employee has previously received a pardon; and
• Disability

Whom to report job-related problems to

For instance, an employer may instruct a worker to carry out a dangerous duty in dangerous conditions or in the event that a worker suffers from a disease or injury that is related to their job. Any and all incidences of this nature are required to be reported to the health and safety authorities of the relevant province or territory.

In a similar vein, they are required to report their employer to the Employment Standards Office if they believe they are receiving unfair treatment from them or that their employer is not abiding by the terms of the mutual employment contract. Because of this, it appears that they are breaking the terms of the job agreement or the mutual contract.

Employees in the territories and provinces commonly receive benefits of various kinds. When an employee suffers an illness or injury as a result of their job, these benefits will compensate them for any lost pay. Legally speaking, a worker cannot be prevented from claiming compensation by their employer.

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