2.2 Key Terms

collective agreement: A negotiated agreement between a workers’ union and an employer that specifies the terms of union members’ employment, including wages, hours, job duties, vacation, and benefits.

common law: Judge-made law, also known as case law; common law comes from judges’ decisions and operates within a hierarchical court system. Higher-level court decisions must be followed by judges at lower or equal levels of court; for example, decisions made by the Supreme Court of Canada, the highest court in the country, affect all lower-level Canadian courts.

contract: A legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties. Employers may enter into contracts with workers, and those may be contracts of employment or contracts for services (that is, contracts with independent contractors).

employer policies: Rules and guidelines created by employers. These rules may form part of the employment relationship but cannot override the protections or rights provided by law.

employment standards: Legislated rules that specifies minimum standards that employers have to meet. Employers may provide more than the minimum required by employment standards but not less. For example, if the legislated minimum wage is $16 per hour, an employer may pay $16 or any amount greater than that.

federal: Refers to the central government of a country; for example, the Government of Canada as opposed to the government of each province or territory (Government of Alberta, Government of Ontario).

independent contractor: A self-employed worker that enters into contracts with businesses or individuals to provide services. Independent contractors typically own the tools necessary to complete their work and manage their own workflow. Independent contractors are paid when they invoice the service recipient. There is a legal test to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor.

jurisdiction: The power, right, or authority to create, amend, interpret, or apply the law. For example, the Government of Alberta has jurisdiction (law-making authority) over employment standards in Alberta, except when employees work in federally regulated industries. Jurisdiction can also refer to the land area of a government with law-making power; for example, Alberta can be referred to as a jurisdiction.

legislation: Written laws containing rules about a specific subject. Legislation is created and amended by elected governments (provincial, territorial, or federal) that are authorized to create laws in specified areas of jurisdiction.

minimum wage: The lowest amount an employer can legally pay an employee; varies by jurisdiction.

pay in lieu: Compensation provided to an employee instead of a working notice. For example, an employee may be entitled to two weeks’ termination notice, but employment standards legislation may allow the employee to be paid for two weeks in lieu of being given two weeks notice before the employee’s last day of work.

province: A region of a country organized as a political unit. In Canada, provinces have equal authority to the federal government to make legislation in areas set out by the Constitution. Alberta, Ontario, and British Columbia are three of the 10 provinces in Canada.

Record of Employment (ROE): A record that employers must complete and send to Service Canada whenever an employee’s earnings are interrupted or employment is terminated. The ROE contains information about the employee’s earnings, dates of employment, and the reason for interruption of earnings.

regulation: Legislation containing detailed rules, specifics, and/or amounts pertaining to certain parts of the legislation. For example, Alberta’s Employment Standards Code establishes that employers must pay their employees at least the minimum wage, and Alberta’s Employment Standards Regulation sets the minimum wage rate (dollars per hour).

statute: A written law (legislation) containing enforceable rules and enacted by the Parliament of Canada or provincial legislatures.

statutory holiday: One of several days per year legislated by employment standards as days off; for example, in Canada, New Year’s Day is a statutory holiday in every jurisdiction. Employees are entitled to statutory holiday pay.

territory: A region of a country organized as a political unit with limited powers. Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut are the three territories in Canada. The Constitution does not authorize territories to make legislation; any legislative power that territories have is granted by the federal government.

vacation: Employees’ entitlement to paid time away from work. Minimum vacation entitlements are set through employment standards.