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
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
“Our mental space (i.e. idea space) expands and contracts in direct proportion
Expanding into Canada? Compare Employer of Record (EOR), Professional Employer Organization (PEO), and staffing agencies. Learn which model best fits your hiring, compliance, and payroll needs.
Continue Reading Choosing the Right Employer Service Model in Canada: PEOs vs EORs vs Staffing Agencies
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
Remember the online meme comparing “Let’s eat grandma!” with “Let’s eat, grandma!”? Well, here we have the legal version of it.
A judge in Nova Scotia recently invalidated part of an employment contract because it didn’t have a comma. Is that nitpicking, you ask?
Not really, it’s actually important. Here’s why.
The part of the contract in question was the termination clause. Basically, a termination clause dictates what an employee is entitled to when they’re terminated.
The case is named Brocklehurst v. Micco Companies Limited, 2025 NSSC 192.Continue Reading “Let’s Eat Grandma” – How Commas Can Ruin or Make Your Case (and What To Do About It!)
When it comes to taking time off work in Ontario, many employees (and employers) are confused about the difference between vacation time and vacation pay. Both are mandated by the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), but they are distinct entitlements with different purposes and rules.Continue Reading Vacation Math: Why Time ≠ Pay Under Ontario’s ESA