A new year brings fresh plans, renewed energy, and big goals for growing your business. But January is also when many Ontario employment law changes quietly take effect. If your HR documents have not been reviewed recently, you could be starting 2026 with more risk than you realize.
For small and mid-sized employers, outdated contracts
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 an
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
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
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 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
It’s 2025, and clients are using AI tools like ChatGPT in their legal matters. If you’re an HR professional or run a business, maybe you’ve seen a team member pull up ChatGPT to write a demand letter or question your workplace policies. Or maybe you’ve tried it yourself: “Can I fire someone for this?” or “Is this harassment under Ontario law?”
These tools aren’t going away. Just like WebMD changed how patients interact with doctors, ChatGPT is shifting the lawyer-client relationship. That can be a good thing, with the right boundaries.Continue Reading When Clients Use ChatGPT for Legal Advice
Hiring and terminating employees are two of the most critical decisions an employer can make. These moments define workplace culture, shape legal risk, and directly affect an organization’s reputation.
Unfortunately, they are also common sources of human rights complaints under the Ontario Human Rights Code. Whether due to a lack of awareness or rushed processes, employers often make avoidable mistakes that can lead to costly disputes. A proactive approach rooted in fairness and compliance can go a long way toward reducing liability.Continue Reading Avoiding Discrimination Claims: The Employer’s Guide to Compliant Hiring and Terminations
Happy Canada Day! As we celebrate everything that makes Canada both great and unique (personally as food lovers we’d like to mention poutine and butter tarts) we can’t help (because we’re lawyers) but reflect on what makes Canadian employment law so uniquely…Canadian.
Whether you’re running a business in Canada, or supporting HR for one, it helps to understand how our workplace laws differ from other countries, especially our neighbors to the south, and how new rules like updates to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act (“ESA”) effective July 1, 2025) continue to shape our employer obligations.
Let’s break it down.Continue Reading Oh Canada, Oh Compliance: What Employers Need to Know About Our Unique Canadian Workplace Laws