Employers’ use of temporary help agencies (“THAs”) to supplement their workforce is common across Ontario, offering flexibility in staffing, outsourcing of certain administrative burdens, and potentially limiting employment-related liabilities.
However, both THAs and their client employers can face significant legal exposure based on shared, joint, and/or common obligations. Notably, these obligations can have substantial consequences in statutory compliance under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”), wrongful dismissal claims, and liability for discrimination in the workplace under the Human Rights Code (the “Code”).
This update outlines the legal framework and practical risk areas for employers operating within, or engaging, temporary staffing arrangements.
The ESA contains a dedicated regime for THAs, imposing obligations such as:
Under the ESA, where a worker and THA agree that the agency would assign or attempt to assign the worker to a client of the agency, the THA is deemed to be the worker’s employer, and the worker is deemed to be an employee of the THA. However, the ESA provides that client employers are jointly and severally liable with THAs for unpaid regular wages, overtime pay, public holiday pay, and premium pay to workers. Where a THA does not pay...
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