Senior managers
The senior manager of a company does not have the same status as workers in terms of the recourses they may exercise with the CNESST.
Specific provisions
Loi sur les normes du travail
Senior managers are covered only by labour standards relating to retirement, psychological harassment and leave for family or parental obligations. They are not covered by the other standards.
Loi sur la santé et sécurité du travail
Senior managers are excluded from the Loi sur la santé et sécurité du travail.
Loi sur les accidents du travail et les maladies professionnelles
Senior managers benefit from the mandatory coverage (in French only) provided for under the Loi sur les accidents du travail et les maladies professionnelles. The only exclusion for these managers concerns the officer of a legal person, i.e., a person with rights and obligations.
Loi sur l’équité salariale
Senior managers are not considered employees in the calculation of the number of workers for the purposes of applying the Loi sur l’équité salariale.
What is a senior manager?
A senior manager must be a member of senior management. This staff member must, for example, report to the owner, president, board of directors or managing director of the company.
They participate in the development of the company's major orientations and major decisions concerning its profitability or growth and its general strategies and policies. They have fairly significant decision-making authority and can commit the company on key issues without having to refer to a higher authority other than the managing director.
Middle managers
A distinction must be made between senior managers and so-called middle managers who are, for example, responsible for managing routine or day-to-day operations or implementing management's orientations. These workers, who have a managerial title, do not meet the CNESST’s definition of a senior manager.