How the Infections Disease Emergency Leave (“IDEL”) may leave vulnerable Employees behind
On September 3, 2020, the province unassumingly extended the IDEL, which was supposed to end on September 4, 2020. Although the province framed the purpose of the leave as protecting employees, it has had the opposite effect. Recap In May 2020, the provincial government changed certain Employment Standards Act (“ESA”) rules to “protect” employees through… Read more »
Expanding our Employment Law Helpline
On March 25th, we launched our free COVID-19 Employment Law helpline. Since then, we have helped hundreds of people whose employment situations were affected by COVID-19 navigate their options and understand their rights. Today, we are expanding our helpline to provide free assistance to employees in Ontario related to their human rights in employment. Nelligan… Read more »
Supreme Court of Canada Clarifies Law: Bonuses During Notice Period Must Be Paid, and Employers Should Not Act Dishonestly
Authors: Christopher Rootham and Adrienne Fanjoy In Matthews v Ocean Nutrition Canada Ltd., the Supreme Court of Canada has clarified the rules around bonus payments or other incentive payments that become payable during the notice period after an employee is dismissed. The Supreme Court also made it clear that employers should not act dishonestly and… Read more »
12 Questions to Consider Before Terminating an Employee for Absenteeism or Lateness
It should be unsurprising for an employee to learn that their employment may be in jeopardy if they are chronically absent or late for work. In the time of COVID-19, some employees are facing challenges working full time because of childcare obligations and other unexpected commitments. In certain circumstances, issues with attendance and lateness may… Read more »
Layoffs turning into terminations on September 4? Not necessarily. Important change to the layoff period:
COVID-19 hit the province in and around March 16, 2020. As a result, many businesses were forced to temporarily layoff their employees. typically, an employer can only layoff and employee if it is directly permitted in your employment contract or implied as part of industry standards. As such, some employees started treating these layoffs as… Read more »
What happens when the CERB is discontinued? New COVID-related benefits explained
The CERB’s fast approaching discontinuance has given rise to the introduction of new benefits by the federal government that are set to be available on September 27th. This blog provides a snapshot of three new benefits and how they can assist you in navigating these challenging times. They are the: Canada Recovery Benefit for Canadians… Read more »