Important Reminder to Farms with Interns or Young Employees

Ontario Reminds Young Workers to Stay Safe This Summer

Province Helping young People to Know their Rights at Work

July 1, 2015  |  Ministry of Labour

With the summer job season gearing up, Ontario is reminding young workers - and their employers and supervisors - that they have rights and responsibilities at work under the law. 

More than 1.5 million young people aged 15 to 24 work across Ontario, and every year more than 6,000 are injured seriously enough to need time off work. 

By law, all workers including young workers, have the right to: 

• Refuse unsafe work
• Know about hazards in the workplace and how to protect their health and safety
• Participate in resolving workplace health and safety concerns

Young workers are also entitled to minimum standards under the Employment Standards Act, which include: 

• Limits to the number of hours they can be required to work or allowed to work
• A certain number of hours free from work
• An eating period
• A regular pay period and payday

Employers, supervisors and parents can learn more by visiting Ontario.ca/YoungWorkers, Ontario's web portal on how to protect young workers on the job. 

Quick Facts

• Every summer, the Ministry of Labour conducts a young worker health and safety blitz to make sure all workers know their rights - this year's four-month blitz began in May. 
• Between 2009 and 2013, 30 young workers aged 15 to 24 died in work-related incidents and more than 30,000 received injuries resulting in lost time at work.
• New and young workers are three times more likely to be injured during their first month of work than at any other time. 

Additional Resources

• Learn more about protecting young workers.
• For questions about workplace health and safety, call the Ministry of Labour at 1-800-531-5551. For questions about employment standards, call the ministry at 1-877-202-0008. Both toll-free lines provide service in multiple languages. 

Quotes

"All injuries and fatalities are preventable, and no person should be treated unfairly at work. We must strive to ensure that young workers - our own sons and daughters - have their workplace rights protected under the law and that they are able to come home to us safe and sound at the end of each shift."