Employers often wonder how to handle requests for leaves of absence from employees. This requires understanding the various options available depending on the terms of employment and benefit plans, but also obligations under employment standards legislation and human rights legislation. This balancing act can become burdensome and lead to liability for employers if mishandled.  The Type of Leave  The type of leave is the most important factor to consider when planning next steps following a request for leave. If an employee requests a leave related to their health, it could be captu ..read more

In many industries right now, businesses are fighting not just for clients, customers, and market share but to attract and retain good talent. If you’ve managed to recruit an employee from a competitor – congrats! But before you put together the onboarding package and schedule the welcome lunch, here are a few steps to take to avoid any potential legal headaches:  Identify Potential Risks  Before hiring a candidate from a competitor, there are a few potential risks to look out for, which may impact your strategy in the hiring process or make you decide to go with a different candida ..read more

Attention employers and job seekers! As a result of some incoming changes to the Employment Standards Act, job postings are about to look different! Ontario’s Working For Workers Four Act received Royal Assent on March 21, 2024. And now, a brief interlude on Ontario’s law-making process in case you’ve forgotten: Royal Assent is the last step in the process that makes a Bill law. Once the Bill receives Royal Assent, it is officially law. However, in some cases, like with this Bill, many of the changes are not yet in force and will only take effect at a later date. In this case, this is good ne ..read more

Mitigation issues can save an employer months of termination pay and/or gut your termination case, depending on whether you are the employer or employee in a dispute. But what exactly is mitigation? This post sets out the basics. What is Mitigation? In Canadian employment law, mitigation refers to the legal obligation of an employee who has been terminated or laid off to make reasonable efforts to find comparable employment. This principle of “mitigating damages” is used to reduce the potential compensation or termination package an employer may be required to pay. For instance, if an employe ..read more

The dust has settled post-pandemic and employees are out of sorts. Turnover is high across all industries as people regroup and sort through what they want out of their careers. We regularly hear about employees resisting commuting, moving on quicker than ever when the job gets difficult, and when regular feedback gets uncomfortable. The increased turnover continues to uncomfortably intersect with disability leaves. Few questions were asked during the pandemic when covid had such a broad and serious impact on people’s ability to come to work with as little as a cough. Now, as employers increa ..read more

Nobody wants to receive a paycheque that’s smaller than they were expecting, but sometimes, wage deductions are necessary. So, when can an employer make deductions from an employee’s wages? In Ontario, the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) provides guidelines regarding what deductions are permissible, in order to protect employees and their earnings.  Employers are generally not allowed to withhold wages that an employee has earned, make a deduction from an employee’s wages, or cause an employee to return their wages to the employer. However, this general prohibition is subject to a f ..read more

As lawyers who practice for both employers and employees, we know that terminations are rarely pleasant for anyone involved. After all, as the Courts have acknowledged, employment is an essential component of identity, self-worth and emotional well-being. More recent Court rulings have reminded us that the manner in which employment can be terminated is equally important and impactful to the employee as the employment once was. With the importance of employment and the impact of termination well established, what can employers do to ensure the termination process is as smooth as possible ..read more

Important update for all federal employers! Amendments to the Canada Labour Code are now in force as of February 1, 2024. Do you fall into this category? And if so, what does this mean for you?  Federal Employers As we’ve discussed in a previous blog, the Canada Labour Code is a federal law which sets out minimum employment standards for sectors that fall under federal power. These are generally sectors that go between the provinces, for example, air travel, railways and road transportation. It also applies to the telecommunications sector, banks, and federal Crown corporations. Generall ..read more

Each year, our law firm goes out of town and spends a couple of days together in a big AirBnB planning the year, iterating and optimizing our systems, identifying pain points and ways to improve our client service delivery, and developing our legal skills. Where the Real Magic Happens As a fully virtual law firm, since we started SpringLaw in 2017, these in-person annual retreats are a critical part of our infrastructure. It’s where we all really get to know each other on both a professional and personal level, where real conversations happen about what works and doesn’t work in our firm ..read more

During 2023, we saw the Ontario Court of Appeal uphold two decisions awarding notice periods beyond what was believed to be the “24-month cap” at 27 and 30 months respectively. In another recent Ontario decision, the Court awarded 5.5 months of pay in lieu of notice to an employee with only 5 months of service prior to dismissal, which is significantly higher than the “one month per year” rule of thumb. These decisions create uncertainty for employers given the wide range of potential liability arising from wrongful dismissal claims. Fortunately, there are proactive measures employers can tak ..read more