The Ontario induction includes online modules at home: does the time count?

Required training counts as work time

Under Ontario's Employment Standards Act (ESA), time spent in training that is required by the employer or by law for the job is generally counted as hours of work. This means the time you spend completing online modules at home, even outside your scheduled shift, may be compensable. However, voluntary study you choose to do on your own to qualify for a promotion is treated differently. The key is whether the training is genuinely required for your position and whether you are covered by the ESA. Completing a module at home does not automatically make it voluntary.

Record the requirement and your actual time

Keep the module list, deadline and message making the training a condition of starting or keeping the job. Record actual attendance and task time, with breaks and optional reading separated. Use your own contemporaneous record rather than the course’s advertised duration. If you lack a timesheet account, ask how to submit the training hours and retain the submission. Employer confirmation can help reconcile the record; it is not a reason to omit time you actually spent.

Check which pay period includes the hours

Ask your employer which pay period the training hours will be included in, and how your wage and any applicable overtime were calculated. Compare this with your payslip. Keep any course fee you paid separate from payment for your time. If the employer says a session was optional, ask for the specific instruction that supports that description, and save that response alongside the original requirement.

If the hours are missing from your pay

If your pay does not reflect the training hours, send a dated copy of the requirement and your time record to the payroll department, asking for clarification or correction. If the issue remains unresolved, seek advice specific to Ontario, bringing your work category and all records. Do not apply another province's overtime formula. This guide does not determine whether every professional course, apprenticeship arrangement, or statutory exclusion applies merely because the word 'training' is used.

Example: how to apply this to your situation

Hypothetical illustration: after starting a retail job, an employee is told to finish mandatory safety modules at home outside scheduled shifts. The employee records six hours of actual course work, excluding breaks, and saves the instruction and completion record. Ask payroll: “Which pay period includes these six required training hours, and how are they reflected in the gross pay and any applicable overtime calculation?” Check ESA coverage and the nature of the requirement; completing the work at home does not make it voluntary.

What to do if the issue is unresolved

If after asking payroll you still have no clear answer, or the employer refuses to pay, you may need to seek advice from an employment lawyer or a community legal clinic in Ontario. Bring your records: the training requirement, your time log, any emails about optional status, and your payslip. Ask specifically: 'Does the ESA require my employer to pay for this required training time, and what is the correct process to claim it?' Do not wait indefinitely; if a deadline applies to filing a claim, act promptly. This guide does not create a legal obligation beyond what the ESA provides.

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