With only a few business days left before October 11, 2022, when employers must have a written Electronic Monitoring Policy in place, SpringLaw is fielding regular questions from employers about their near-final drafts. The policy requirements and meeting this new transparency obligation are discussed in our prior blog: New Electronic Monitoring Policy: The What, How and Why for Employers. The deadline for providing a written copy to employees is November 10, 2022.

Step One: Review Your Current Electronic Monitoring Practices

Employers with a buttoned-down approach should start with a broad review of their current monitoring practices. This may unearth some overkill monitoring and data collection – passive and unintentional, or otherwise.  Continue Reading Privacy Compliance: We’re Watching You, Employees, But Not Really

The pandemic has taken its toll on workplaces. Employees are no longer prepared to take it for the collective team at the expense of self-care and family, and employers are stretched on time, budgets and bandwidth as everyone settles into the new post-pandemic era. There is currently a disconnect between what is “the job” and what are the “above and beyond” parts of the role, resulting in a fresh wave of communication gaps and misunderstandings in the workplace.

Perfect Storm – Why Now?

Why are employees only now Quiet Quitting? Workplaces are currently in this perfect storm of disconnects and job evolution: Continue Reading Managing Quiet Quitting Employees

Navigating Employee Accommodations in the Post-Pandemic WorkplaceBack to Sweaters, School, and the Office – Oh My! 

For many, September marks the start of a new year. Yes, yes, we know January is the real first month of the year but September marks the end of summer holidays, kids going back to school, and many workforces who had modified summer schedules tend to resume their regular working hours in the Fall. While these used to be pretty standard and expected changes pre-pandemic, employees are now finding these organizational shifts to be more challenging than ever. In turn, employers are facing new accommodation issues and are trying to keep up. From employees wanting to work from home to family obligations to mental health and stress, here is everything you need to know about accommodating your employees.  Continue Reading Navigating Employee Accommodations in the Post-Pandemic Workplace

Free Webinar: Managing Quietly Quitting EmployeesThe pandemic has taken its toll on workplaces. Employees are no longer prepared to take it for the collective team at the expense of self-care and family, and employers are stretched on time, budgets and bandwidth as everyone settles into the new post-pandemic era. There is currently a disconnect between what is “the job” and what are the “above and beyond” parts of the role, resulting in a fresh wave of communication gaps and misunderstandings in the workplace.

This webinar will help employers sort through quiet quitting, performance expectations and how to reduce overall legal risks and headaches with employees who are no longer showing up with robust enthusiasm (and/or showing up to simply do only their job). Continue Reading Free webinar: Managing Quietly Quitting Employees

Hey Ontario Employers!  Are you burnt out and overwhelmed with all of the HR Law fires you’re always putting out and the struggle of just keeping up with legal compliance?  We have built a brand-new legal solution called the Boss Law Bootcamp!  Check out the video below and/or visit our website to learn more!

We are very proud to share that, for the second year in a row, SpringLaw lawyers and firm partners Lisa Stam and Jessyca Greenwood have received a Best Lawyers Award in the areas of Labour and Employment Law and Criminal Defence respectively.  We know how hard they both work to provide their clients with exceptional legal services. They are also incredible mentors to their colleagues and the broader legal community.

Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. The process is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.

Congratulations Lisa and Jessyca!  This recognition is well-earned and well-deserved!

age and gender discrimination in the workplaceIt has been only a few weeks since Lisa LaFlamme, CTV National News’ former chief anchor and senior editor,  shared on Twitter that Bell Media terminated her contract after over 30 years with the company. Her termination has since made international news due to allegations of age and gender discrimination. The company’s Vice President has announced a leave of absence and other employees have publicly raised concerns about a toxic work environment. 

Age discrimination is likely to become a more common allegation against employers given the general demographics of our workforce. The proportion of working-age people in Canada who are between the ages of 55 and 64 is at an all-time high of 21.8%.   Continue Reading Lessons in Managing an Aging Workforce: Terminations

In the recent Court of Appeal decision in Kosteckyj v. Paramount Resources Ltd. 2022 ABCA 230 (CanLII), the court considered the possibility that specific timelines could be imposed on employees for voicing dissatisfaction with unwelcome changes to the terms of their employment if they want to subsequently argue that they’ve been constructively dismissed.

What Typically Triggers a Constructive Dismissal Claim?

Constructive dismissal arguments often follow unilateral changes made to an employment agreement by the employer.  When an employee alleges a constructive dismissal after a change, they’re essentially saying that the change cuts so deeply to the core of the employment relationship that they’ve been forced to leave: “I’m quitting, but you made me! … and by the way, you have to now compensate me as if you’d fired me.” Continue Reading How Long Can an Employee Dispute Compensation Changes?

HR law toolkit: Boss Law BootcampHello Friends of SpringLaw!

We hope your summer has gone well! 

For many of our employer clients, it’s time to get back to business, solidify HR law systems and post-pandemic norms and to gear up for a busy fall.

We want to make that easy for you – we’re excited to announce the launch of our new Boss Law Bootcamp. This comprehensive online program is designed for both new employers not sure where to start as well as boss pros who all need to keep their legal templates and resources up to date.

The Bootcamp includes the up-to-date core HR law contracts and policies you must have in place today, plus bonus guides & checklists AND time with our employment lawyers to customize and help you with the how of implementing the legal infrastructure. We want this to be effortless and quick for you.

And we have an Early Bird price until Sept 15!

Packed with practical knowledge, templates, policies and practices!

Continue Reading New Boss Law Bootcamp

Remote and Hybrid Working ArrangementsAs SpringLaw’s Lisa Stam outlined in a recent article, since the pandemic, we’ve been seeing more workplaces shift to either a fully remote or a hybrid working arrangement. This shift brings in a whole new set of questions surrounding what employers’ obligations are to their employees working from home and what policies to have in place. Here’s the lowdown on what employers need to know about remote and hybrid working arrangements. 

What is a Remote or Hybrid Working Arrangement? 

An entirely remote working arrangement is pretty self-explanatory. Employees work from home on a full-time basis and are never required to go into an office. A hybrid working arrangement, on the other hand, has become much more common since the pandemic. It incorporates both remote and in-office work. Being a newer concept, employers are still figuring out what this arrangement looks like for their company. Some employers set the days that an employee is required to be in the office, whereas other employers will set how many days a week an employee should be in the office but the employee ultimately chooses the days. With both these working arrangements gaining popularity, it’s important for employers to be mindful of changing demands and their legal obligations to employees working from home.  Continue Reading What Employers Need to Know about Remote and Hybrid Working Arrangements in Ontario