Jubael Ra-Akbar v. Dynamo Gymnastics Sports Centre Inc., 2025 CanLII 31635 (ON LRB)

In Jubael Ra-Akbar v. Dynamo Gymnastics Sports Centre Inc., 2025 CanLII 31635 (ON LRB), the Ontario Labour Relations Board looked at whether time spent by a coach training their own child at the employer’s facility counted as “work” under the Employment Standards Act, 2000, and whether it had to be paid.

Vice Chair Young found that it didn’t. In a key part of the decision, the Board held that these hours were not compensable “work” under the ESA. The matter deals with an issue that has had little legal attention: when someone chooses to volunteer their time at their own workplace, does that make it work that must be compensated?

Loopstra Nixon lawyers Elliot Saccucci and Alessia Grossi represented the employer. This decision gives helpful guidance to employers, especially in the sports world, on where the line is between personal time and paid work. It also dealt with the analysis for reprisal allegations under the Employment Protection for Foreign Nationals Act, one of the first such cases to do so.

Loopstra Nixon remains at the forefront of the evolving relationship between sport and employment law, and we are proud to continue advising clients operating in this complex space. Read more here.