Remote work settled into Canadian workplaces long ago, yet many employers still operate as though the shift was temporary. The result? Quiet risks, unclear expectations, and legal obligations hiding beneath everyday workflows. Remote work isn’t dangerous on its own — unstructured remote work is.
The most common misstep happens before employers even realize it: allowing
Not all perks are created equal. If you’re reviewing your benefits package for 2026, here’s what’s actually moving the needle on retention, and what’s legally compliant, simple to administer, and worth the investment.
Ping pong tables, kombucha on tap, and birthday lunches aren’t cutting it anymore, especially for employees who
As your small or medium-sized business grows, you’ll face more complex employment law questions. When those issues arise, one big decision often follows: should you hire an in-house lawyer, or rely on external legal counsel?
While having a lawyer on your payroll may sound convenient, many growing companies find the costs and responsibilities outweigh the
Ontario’s Human Rights Code (the “Code”) protects people from discrimination and harassment in specific areas of public life based on personal characteristics, known as “grounds.” The settings where these protections apply are called “areas.”
Knowing these protections—and how they extend to
Employment contracts shouldn’t be considered “set it and forget it” documents. With what feels like almost constantly evolving case law, employers need to keep contracts up to date or risk having key provisions thrown out by a court.
If a termination clause is found to be invalid, the promises in your contract (most typically limiting
Beyond all the moral and ethical reasons for promoting a diverse workforce, the business case for diversity is clear.
A decade ago, a McKinsey study of 366 companies in Canada, Latin America, the United Kingdom, and the United States found clear business advantages for diverse businesses.
According to the study, companies
Since the amendment of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) in 2022, Ontario employers with 25 or more employees as of Jan 1 are legally required to implement a written “disconnecting from work” policy. On paper, it sounds like a big shift. In reality, these policies do little for an already flexible or metrics-driven workforce that has moved beyond the traditional Mon-Fri or 9-5 dynamic.
If your business already operates with a flexible, remote or asynchronous model, you might be wondering: Do we still need a formal disconnect policy? Continue Reading Your Workplace May Be Flexible, But Your Disconnecting Policy Obligations Are Not
When we meet with employers regarding a needed change or a tough new situation at work, we often find that mention of constructive dismissal can really catch employers off guard. When it comes to constructive dismissal, there’s no termination meeting or official decision by the employer, but the law can still treat the situation as if the employee was fired.
Substantial changes to a job, or a work environment that becomes so bad, the employee feels they have no reasonable choice but to leave, can trigger a constructive dismissal. Ultimately, constructive dismissal creates the same obligations for the employer as a termination, including paying termination pay, severance, and possibly damages to the employee. Continue Reading Oops, You Might’ve Fired Them: A Constructive Dismissal Reality Check