Decent Work

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Decent Work Checklist

Decent work practices are not simply limited to financial rewards and benefits. Organizational practices and cultures are part of a decent work environment. This simple checklist can help you think about what decent work practices look like for your organization, and identify areas where you are achieving impressive decent work practices and areas where you would like to improve.

If you download the checklist, please let us know by sending an email to randall@theonn.ca.

1. Decent Wages

Fair income is one common aspect of decent work. This involves not only salaries, but also income security: paid holiday, parental and sick leave, and steady work hours that allow for a predictable income. Support for fair income might mean promoting and adopting “living wage” policies or other standards that promote income fairness within, and between, workplaces.

2. Decent benefits

In addition to extended benefits (such as holiday pay, parental and sick leave, which are governed by the Employment Standards Act), retirement income security and access to essential healthcare are two of the most central elements decent work. These are especially important to the nonprofit sector as a key driver of dignity in the workplace and making our sector an employer of choice.

3. Decent Contract Security

There is pressure in the labour market to increase the use of “precarious” part-time and limited-term job contracts to carry out work that used to be done by full-time permanent staff. In some instances, this is done to achieve flexibility, and is a necessary part of some staffing models (for example, with relief and emergency workers). However, this can also be a practice used to avoid the added costs associated with full-time and permanent contracts. The extent to which the nonprofit sector can resist these trends will determine whether or not we can continue to provide good jobs for many people in our workforce.

4. Decent Scheduling

Many programs in the nonprofit sector rely upon flexible and on-call scheduling to meet the needs of the people served. At the same time, the capacity of staff to plan their non-work activities, attend to personal and family needs, and attain a positive work-life balance depends on having reasonable ability to plan ahead. Efforts to provide as advanced scheduling are critical.

5. Decent Opportunities for Advancement

Decent work also means thinking about the opportunities available for training, learning, and advancement. This may include formal training and advancement opportunities, and having a workplace and sector culture that is focused on learning and the development of its employees.

6. Decent Processes for Resolving Conflicts

An environment where people can express their concerns, participate equally, and feel included and safe in the workplace underpins all aspects of decent work. This includes strong employment standards, establishing codes of conduct, developing proactive policies for diversity and inclusion, ensuring the safety of workers, respecting the mental and physical health of employees, and ensuring that employees understand they have the right to organize and speak up about workplace concerns.

7. Decent Workplace Culture of Participation

Effective leadership and a participatory work culture are crucial to decent work. The leadership norms and management styles practiced in workplaces impact the ability of workers to sustain their passion and commitment to work, and contribute their ideas and skills to advancing the broader mission of the organization. They also impact the ability of workers to balance work, family, and personal time. A participatory work culture also goes beyond compliance with human rights and accessibility legislation, and actively fosters inclusion and engagement.

* Note: The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) sets out roles and responsibilities of workplace parties with respect to workplace violence and workplace harassment, including developing and implementing policies and programs, and providing information and instruction on these. The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) also sets out regulations for identifying, removing, and preventing barriers to employees with disabilities.

8. Strategies to Promote Decent Work

Nonprofits can face significant structural barriers to providing decent work. These can be a result of program models that require flexible, part-time, or casual contracts, or funders that do not allow funds to be used for certain costs (for example, identifying pension contributions as an “ineligible” expense). In the case of government-funded organizations, there is often restraint and flatlining of program funds for years at a time. Some organizations may be able to overcome aspects of these barriers over time (for example, not accepting low-wage contracts). However, to make systemic change for government funders to include cost of living increases in their allocations, it will take concerted advocacy efforts collectively by our networks and the nonprofit sector as a whole.

We’re grateful for the financial support of the Atkinson Foundation and Status of Women Canada, which is helping us to explore and build decent work in Ontario’s nonprofit sector.