Ontario Human Right Code, 1990
The recruitment and hiring process in an organization influences the overall organizational performance. This process is the part of HR management that needs to be taken care of for sustainable relations development with the employees. Wilson Bros is a known name in the prepared food markets in the Canadian Industry. The company has a reputation for service excellence and an exceptional work environment. The sales margin of the Wilson Bros products has been falling in recent years because of the competitive pricing aspects. Competitors of the company are gaining the market share, and therefore, the customer’s numbers are reducing in recent times. Therefore, the company must attempt to adopt different mediums for selling its products. Getting the federal government contract for the company’s food services could enhance the brand value and customers trust of Wilson Bros. The definitive laws and regulations come with the government contract that ranges from employment to the work cultural aspects in organization. This report aims to analyze the legislation in the Ontario federal government that will give insight into the company operations regarding their HR policy development. The most crucial legislation for the government contract would be Ontario Human Right Code (1990) and Federal Employment Equity Code (1995).
Ontario Human Right Code (1990)
The Ontario Human Rights Code, 1990 covers multiple aspects of human rights, ranging in services, accommodation, contracts, employment, reprisals, and many more. The employment regulations are stated in section 5(1) of this act. According to 5(1) section of the law- “Every person has a right to equal treatment concerning employment without discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, the record of offenses, marital status, family status or disability.” (“Human Rights Code”). Discrimination-free recruitment and hiring process is encouraged by this act for the firms working in Ontario. Any discrimination based on the above- mentioned grounds can cause legal problems for the companies working in this province. The act also explains different levels of hiring and recruitment requirement for companies. The section 5 states that the organizations must attract the talent through application forms where the job responsibilities will be stated. The qualification for the job is to be mentioned directly or indirectly and there would be no place for the discrimination of the above grounds. The interview and qualification must not have the elements of discrimination within the employment process. Equal treatment is expected for all the candidates on the ground of employment and the employment agency must not discriminate the candidates under the prohibited ground of discrimination. These are the major aspects of employment that are related to the act. Wilson Bros are trying to get the federal government contract, so there would be the need for extra staffing for the new projects. Complying with these regulations is necessary to avoid legal animalities within the project.
The Employment Equity Act is related to workplace equality built to guide the employers and the employees about their rights and responsibilities in the employment act. According to this act, the main aim of this legislation is to achieve equality in the workplace (“Employment Equity Act”). As stated in the “Purpose of the Act”- the Employment Equity Act, this act is instrumental in guiding the correction of the disadvantages that can be present in the workplace for people from minority groups, women, aboriginal people, and people with disabilities. This means that the employers of Canada, who employ one hundred or more than one hundred employees, have the responsibility to develop the employment system that is more than treating persons, as it includes the accommodation of differences and inclusion of special measures for the people with special conditions (“Employment Equity Act”). This act is crucial for understanding the different considerations to be made by employers to provide equal employment opportunities for all people. The act applies to the governmental and non-governmental employers of the country. The Employer Obligations part of the act is important for Wilson Bros’s new venture. This is the part where the federal policymakers have elaborated the responsibilities of the employers like Wilson Bros that are to have adhered. The first thing is to identify and eliminate employment barriers for the minority and differently-abled people. The exceptions are also mentioned as the law states that the obligation of this act does not require the employer to take the measures where the measure can cause high hardship to the employer.
Federal Employment Equity Code, 1995
The employment policies of Wilson Bros are to be based on the employment relations stated in the Employment Equity Act. The act provisions are the guidelines for the company that wants to improve its employment practices in the Canadian context. The analysis and review are a major part of the act. According to this act, every employer need to collect information and analyze it before finalizing their employment policies. The employment systems, practices and policies are to be set following the Employment Equity Act. The people who are intended to identify themselves as part of the aboriginal groups or people with disability groups are to be counted as the members of the designated group under this act. Wilson Bros has a work culture that is inclusive and discrimination-free. Compliance with these two acts is necessary not only for the legal aspects but at the same time; these laws can provide depth to the hiring and recruitment process of the company. The employer’s equity plan development is suggested by the Employment Equity Act. In section 10, the act narrates the measures that the companies can take before finalizing their employment equity plan.
It is necessary for the employees of the organization along with authority to have the knowledge of these two acts. The transparency and clarity about the employer and employee rights will enhance the relevance of the organizational HR Policies. The legislation gives the idea of employment, turnover, and other important ground for the HR management. The Wilson Bros need to develop the selection policies of the new project needs. Understanding the Ontario Human Right Code (1990) and Federal Employment Equity Code (1995) would create the base for employee rights and selection aspects.
Conducting the Job and Organizational Analysis
The Ontario Human Right Code (1990) advocates the need to conduct job analysis before recruitment advertising. The job analysis helps in delegating and detecting the employment needs of the company. The company needs to develop information on the market needs. Deciding the status of the food market profits and the reason behind it needs to be analyzed. This analysis will direct to the need of the skills and competence that are necessary for organizational success. The job role development for the company project could be done based on this analysis. Later, the company also needs to comply with their organizational goals with employee skills. This will add to the employee equity plan which is necessary for compliance to the Employment Equity Act. Having the idea of the job needs and responsibilities will help in an application for employment as per the section 5(1) of Human Rights Codes (“Ontario Human Right Code)”.
Fair and effective employee performance measure development is another crucial action in HR management process. According to the Performance management theories in Human Resource Management, the employees are motivated and actively participate in the organizational function if the performance management is effective. The performance measure is part of the employee rights aspects. The performance measure also includes the accommodation, teamwork, and environmental aspects of the company. Therefore, the Wilson Bros. organizational structure will be improved through the performance measure aspects. The recruitment needs of the company should be in compliance with the regulations of the two employment acts discussed above. As the company would identify the legislative needs that are needed to act upon, the overall impact would be positive on the business (Catano). Therefore, the management of the company must develop a unique performance measure for their operations. The human resources are to be evaluated on the performance standards completely free from the discriminations of wrong ground. The criteria for the performance measurements should be communicated to the employees to make sure that each are given informed opportunities for their career development. Along with that Wilson Bros have the required resources for the equity establishment among the employees. The preservation of the employment rights in the hiring process are to be included.
Employment policies of Wilson Bros
Communication of the policies and implementing them effectively to comply the legislative needs are also the part of employers’ responsibility. The section 14 and 15(1) in the Employment Equity Act states that every employer needs to provide information on the employee equity purpose and their policies regarding this equity act (“Employment Equity Act”). The communication of the acts matters as a mere implementation of the equity and human rights policies are not sufficient. Employees of the organisation should be included in the employment equity plan decisions. The employers should develop policies to restrict any kind of discrimination in the workplace to avoid a poisonous work environment. Both of these acts give employers a primary chance to avoid employee inequality and discrimination. Therefore, the company could build an evaluation committee for monitoring the act compliances and communicate the policies to the employees effectively. This would increase the transparency and fairness in workplace set up for Wilson Bros.
Ontario Human Right Code (1990) is enforced by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. This government agency has the right to cancel the license of the company if they are accused of serious charges of non-compliance to the human rights of the employees. It is mentioned in the section 9 of the code that “No Person shall infringe or do, directly or indirectly, anything that infringes a right under this Part. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, s. 9” (“Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, C. H.19”). According to section 46.2 of the Ontario Human Rights Code, the individual who violates section 9, is subjected to a fine of not more than $25,000 (“Human Rights Code”). An employee who feels his or her human rights are violated needs to communicate the problem with the employer initially. The victim can approach the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario if he or she feels the employers are not resolving the discriminatory issues. In section 45.2, the amendments in the Orders of Tribunal states that the party who infringes the rights of another party is directed to pay monetary compensation. These grounds for infringement could be an injury to feelings, dignity and self- respect. Hence, Wilson Bros. Human Resource Department needs to work actively in preventing any kind of human rights violation in their organisational premises.
Non- compliance with the Federal Employment Equity Code (1995) is a direct violation of equality in workplace legislation. The Wilson Bros come under the Equity Plan provision of the Canadian government. It is the responsibility of the employers under section 18 to file an Employment Equity report to the Minister of Labour. According to Part III, “Assessment of Monetary Penalties”, every private-sector employer who fails to file the employment equity report, fails to provide necessary information or provides misleading information commits the violation of the Employment Equity Act (“Employment Equity Act”). The violation is not considered an offence and is not the part of criminal codes. At the same time, monetary penalties will be imposed within two years timeline, by the Minister, if a case of violation is noticed. Private companies, like Wilson bros., might have to pay a monetary penalty of $10,000 for a single violation and $50,000 for continued or repeated violation of the code (“Employment Equity Act”).
Reference List
Catano, Victor M. et al. Recruitment And Selection In Canada. 7th ed., Nelson Education, 2019.
“Employment Equity Act”. Laws-Lois.Justice.Gc.Ca, 2022, https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/e-5.401/page-1.html.
“Human Rights Code”. Ontario.Ca, 2022, https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90h19/v8#BK6.
“Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, C. H.19”. Ontario.Ca, 2022, https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90h19/v31#BK10.
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