Participation Agreements and Ontario Works

Social assistance programs

If your income is low and you live in Ontario, you may be able to get fnancial help from one of these social assistance programs:

Ontario Works (OW)

Some people call this program welfare. OW is run by municipal or local governments, for example, towns, cities, counties, districts, or regions, and by First Nations.

The Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)

Some people call this program disability benefits. ODSP is for people with serious health problems. It is run by the Ontario government’s Ministry of Community and Social Services.

Both OW and ODSP give people money to help with living expenses, like housing and food. They also help pay for some prescription drugs and some dental services. Some people can get:

• extra money to help pay for a special diet
• other benefits, such as costs for travelling to medical appointments

This kind of help to pay for things you need is called financial assistance or income support.

What is a Participation Agreement?

You cannot get financial assistance from OW unless you sign a Participation Agreement.

When you sign it, you are agreeing to do what OW calls “employment assistance activities”.

These activities are meant to help you get ready for work and find a job as soon as possible. The activities are listed in your Agreement.

The Agreement is part of your application for OW assistance. You and an OW worker are supposed to develop the Agreement together.

Reviewing the Agreement

Within 30 days of when you apply for assistance, an OW worker reviews your Agreement with you.

After that, an OW worker reviews your Agreement with you at least once every 6 months.

Make sure you understand the Agreement

When you meet with an OW worker, you have the right to bring someone with you for support.

For example, you could bring a family member, a friend, or someone from a community group or agency.

You have to sign the Participation Agreement and say that you will do what is in the Agreement. So if you need help with reading, you may want to bring someone who can help you with that.

And if you need an interpreter who speaks your language, tell the OW office. But you may need to bring your own interpreter.

What happens if I do not do what is in the Agreement?

It is important to understand what you are agreeing to do before you sign the Participation Agreement. This is because OW expects you to do what you agree to.

If you do not do the activities in the Agreement, OW can cut o? or reduce your assistance for one month.

If it is not the frst time OW has cut off or reduced your assistance for not doing the activities, they could cut o? or reduce your assistance for 3 months.

See What can I do if OW refuses, reduces, or cuts off my assistance?

Who has to sign a Participation Agreement?

OW does not consider your application to be complete until you sign a Participation Agreement.

If your spouse lives with you, they also have to sign an Agreement.

Other adult family members who live with you may also have to sign Agreements.

Agreements for people getting ODSP benefits

Some people who get income support from the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) must sign a Participation Agreement and follow the same rules as people on OW.

This applies to you if you are getting income support from ODSP because you are:

• the spouse of someone who is on ODSP
• the child of someone who is on ODSP and you are 18 or older

If you are the caregiver for your spouse or parent who is on ODSP, you do not have to do the activities in the Agreement. But first you must get a letter from your doctor or other healthcare professional confirming that you cannot do the activities because you are a caregiver.

Examples of other healthcare professionals who can write a letter are nurse practitioners, psychiatrists, and social workers.

Who does not have to sign an Agreement?

You will not have to sign a Participation Agreement if:

• you are applying only for Temporary Care Assistance for a child
• you are on interim assistance because you appealed a decision about your right to get OW
• you are getting Extended Health Benefits or Extended Employment Health Benefits but not basic financial assistance from OW

What types of activities could be in an Agreement?

A Participation Agreement usually says that you have to be looking for a job, or doing things that will help you find work.

OW might say that you have to do more than one type of activity. For example, you might have to look for a job and do a community placement. See Doing a community placement below.

Looking for a job

You might have to agree to spend a certain number of hours each week doing things like:

• applying for jobs
• going to job interviews
• going to workshops to learn about how to get a job
• going to a job club with other people who are looking for work
• meeting with employment counsellors

The activities that the OW worker wants you to do should be ones that can help you find work.

You can suggest activities that you think could help you get a job.

Going to training or other programs

If the OW worker thinks you need to improve your education or skills, you might have to agree to go to an upgrading or training program.

OW could also refer you to a literacy program or for classes in English as a Second Language (ESL).

If you did not finish high school, you might have to agree to take courses so you can get a high school diploma.

If you are a single parent who is 16 or 17 years old, there are special rules that apply to you. This includes taking part in the Learning, Earning and Parenting program (LEAP).

If you have problems with drugs or alcohol, OW could refer you to a treatment program.

Starting your own business

If the OW office agrees, you could work towards starting your own business. It is important to talk to your OW worker if this is something you would like to do.

Paying for costs of activities

OW can pay for costs you have because you are doing the activities in your Agreement. For example, they can pay for work clothes, tools and equipment, travel, and child care.

Ask your OW worker or contact a community legal clinic for more information. See How can I get legal help?

Doing a community placement

OW may say that you have to do a community placement.

Community placements are sometimes called “community participation” or “voluntary placement”. Some people call it “workfare”.

People in community placements work at non?profit, community, or public organizations.

Examples of these types of organizations are schools, daycare centres, food banks, libraries, and community centres.

If you are already doing volunteer work, you can ask your OW worker if your volunteer hours can be a community placement.

And if you have an idea for a community placement, you can ask your OW worker about it.

Time spent at a community placement

A community placement is usually no more than 6 months long. But it can be up to 12 months long if it is:

• part of a plan to give you training on specific job skills, or
• the best way to help you get a job as soon as possible

If you finish a placement, you may be able to stay on and do another placement at the same organization. But you will have to do different things and learn different skills.

There is a limit to the number of hours that OW can ask you to spend at a community placement.

This amount cannot be more than the number of hours you would have to work at minimum wage to earn the amount you get from OW each month.

And community placements cannot be more than:

• 8 hours a day,
• 44 hours a week, or
• 70 hours a month.

What if I want to quit a job or refuse a job offer?

OW expects you to take steps to get a job and keep any job that you have.

And if you work part time or have casual work, OW expects you to look for more work. OW can reduce or cut off your assistance if you are not trying to find and keep work.

But they may not do this if they think you have a good reason. This is known as having “reasonable cause”.

Reasons for quitting or not taking a job

Examples of “reasonable cause” to quit or refuse to do a job might include:

• a workplace that is not safe or is dangerous to your health
• having a health problem that stops you from doing your job
• sexual harassment at work, or harassment for other reasons like race, religion, or sexual orientation, or because you have a disability
• needing to be at home on a regular basis to care for a child
• having no way to get to a job because public transit does not go there

When your OW worker is deciding if you have “reasonable cause”, they should meet with you and listen to what you have to say.

Giving proof to OW

If you quit or refuse to take a job for health reasons, you need to give your OW worker a letter from your doctor.

You will also have to show your OW worker your Record of Employment (ROE) and any written notice that you get from an employer.

Make sure you tell your OW worker if you have taken any steps against your employer, such as:

• making an Employment Standards claim with the Ministry of Labour
• making a union grievance
• making a human rights application
• suing your employer in court

Are there types of activities I should not have to do?

There are some activities that you should not have to do, for example:

• You should not have to do activities that are dangerous to your health or safety or could make a medical condition get worse.
  

  So, if you have back problems, you should not have to do a job where you have to lift heavy things.

• You should not have to do activities that go against your personal or religious beliefs.
• If you are a member of a union or professional association, you should not have to do things that go against its membership rules.
• If you and your spouse have children who live with you, you may not have to do activities at the same time. But this will not apply when your children are at school or you have child care for them.
• If you have a learning disorder, you should not have to do activities that you are not able to do.
• If you are a caregiver for a family member, you should not have to do activities that stop you from looking afer the person.

Giving proof to OW

OW will ask you to prove why you should not have to do an activity. For example, you might need:

• a letter from a doctor
• a letter from your religious leader
• proof that you belong to a union or professional association, along with a document that shows the rules members must follow

How do I make changes after I sign an Agreement?

After you sign your Participation Agreement, you might fnd that you cannot do what you agreed to do. If this happens, you need to ask OW if you can make changes to your Agreement.

You must work out the changes with your OW worker. And the changes you agree on must be in writing.

If you think you should not have to do an activity that is in your Agreement because something in your life has changed, tell your OW worker.

OW might agree to let you stop doing that activity for a while. But if you are able to do that activity again in the future, you must tell your OW worker.

Will OW excuse me from doing activities if I have a disability?

OW expects you to make “reasonable efforts” to do the activities in your Participation Agreement.

OW might excuse you from all of the activities in your Agreement for a short time, for example, a week or so.

But you need to have a letter from a doctor or other health?care professional that explains why you cannot do any of the activities.

Usually, if you have a disability, you still have to do some of the activities in the Agreement. But you should only have to do activities that you are able to do and that are possible with your disability.

You may know that it will be a while, for example, more than 2 weeks, before you are able to do the activities in your Agreement.

For OW to excuse you from the activities until you can do them, you need to have a doctor or other health?care professional fill out the OW form called Limitations to Participation. You can get this from the OW office.

Applying for disability benefits

If you have a disability that is likely going to last a year or more, you may also want to think about applying to the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) for disability benefits.

There is more information in CLEO’s resource Disability benefits in Ontario: Who can get them and how to apply.

What if there are times when I cannot do the activities?

Waiting to start activities

There may be times when you do not have to start the activities in your Participation Agreement right away.

For example, if you are a single parent you can delay starting the activities if:

• Your child has not started school yet.
• Your child is old enough to go to school, but there is not a publicly funded school near you that offers a program for your child.

Or, you may be able to delay the activities, if you are a caregiver for a family member. You will need to have a letter from your doctor or other health?care professional saying why you cannot do the activities.

Examples of other health?care professionals who can write a letter are nurse practitioners, psychiatrists, and social workers.

The letter needs to explain that your family member needs your help every day, for example, because they are sick or have a disability, or they are elderly.

Being excused from activities

There are other reasons why your OW worker might excuse you from doing the activities in the Agreement.

But you need to prove why it would be very difficult for you to do any of the activities. For example, this might be true if:

• you are a foster parent
• you are on workers’ compensation benefits
• you are on pregnancy or parental leave
• you are under house arrest
• you are a victim of family violence

Your OW worker might also excuse you from doing the activities if you are taking “family caregiver leave” or “family medical leave”.

These are leaves of absence from work that you take to care for or support someone who has a serious medical condition or is dying.

You need to give the OW office documents or other evidence to show why you cannot do the activities.

Reporting changes to OW

If there are changes in your life, you need to tell your OW worker. This might mean that you have to start doing the activities.

OW reviews Participation Agreements on a regular basis. So when an OW worker does a review, they could decide that you have to start doing the activities.

This could happen even if you have not had to do the activities for a long time.

What can I do if OW refuses, reduces, or cuts off my assistance?

Ask for the decision in writing right away.

To appeal, the first thing you have to do is write to the office that made the decision and ask for an “internal review”.

After you have asked for an internal review, you can appeal to the Social Benefits Tribunal. The Tribunal is not part of OW. It has the power to make a different decision.

CLEO’s resource Appealing a decision about social assistance has more details, including important information about time limits and a form that you can use to ask for an internal review.

How can I get legal help?

For advice or help dealing with OW or with appealing a decision by OW, contact a community legal clinic.

To find the legal clinic that serves your area, go to www.yourlegalrights.on.ca/find-services.

You can also go to the Legal Aid Ontario website or call them:

Website: www.legalaid.on.ca/en/contact

Toll?free: 1-800-668-8258

Toronto area: 416-979-1446

Toll?free TTY: 1-866-641-8867

Toronto area TTY: 416-598-8867

CLEO’s Steps to Justice is a website that gives step?by?step information about common legal problems, including social assistance issues.

Steps to Justice has practical tools like forms and checklists, and referral information for legal and social services.

Visit www.stepstojustice.ca.

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January 2018