[ legal ] BY FLORA VINEBERG
ONTARIO’S NEW PRO-WORKER LABOUR LEGISLATION Employers will need to roll out disconnecting from work policies by June 2, 2022.
Upon passing the Act, Ontario announced, “We have introduced measures to make it easier to spend time with family and loved ones, requiring most workplaces have a right to disconnect policy,” which offers insight into this policy’s purpose. DISCONNECTING FROM WORK POLICY
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s a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ontario’s labour market experienced significant disruptions and a permanently shifted work landscape. Employers grapple with redefined work locations, rapidly changing public health standards, and the need for economic revitalization. To aid the province’s recovery scheme, the Ontario government introduced
Bill 27: the Working for Workers Act, on October 25, 2021. On November 30, Bill 27 passed third reading and on December 2 it received royal assent and officially became law. It amends numerous pieces of legislation including the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), in efforts to improve protection and support for Ontario’s workers while maintaining a competitive advantage in attracting leading global talent.
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Significantly, Bill 27 amends the ESA by introducing a requirement for employers with 25 or more employees as of January 1 of any year to ensure, prior to March 1 of that year, that they institute a written policy for all employees with respect to disconnecting from work. Disconnecting from work is defined as “not engaging in work-related communications, including emails, telephone calls, video calls, or the sending or reviewing of other messages, to be free from the performance of work.” The policy must include the date it was prepared and the date(s) any changes were made to it. Employers will be required to provide a copy to each employee within 30 days of preparing this policy, or, if an existing policy is amended, within 30 days of any change(s). The same 30-day window applies to providing new employees with the policy as well. Notably, employers will be required to retain copies of every policy for three years after the policy ceases to be in effect. TO WHOM THE POLICY APPLIES
Pursuant to s. 1(1) of the ESA, an “employee” is defined as a person (including corporate officers) “paid to perform work for an employer, a person paid to supply services to an employer, a person being trained by an employer to perform a skill used by the employer’s employees, and homeworkers.” Ontario Regulation 285/01
