Summer is almost over. I’m looking forward to kids going back to school and enjoying our last public holiday of the season. On the topic of public holidays; I’ve blogged aboutLabour Day in the past and we have followed along with the various changes (and reversals of those changes) made by Bill 148 to
Workplace Policies
After a Key Employee Leaves
Further to our post last week about key employees leaving, employers may wonder about risks to their business and options for recourse if that key employee leaves and sets up a competing shop next door.
There are three main potential risks presented by a departing key employee:
- Misuse of employer confidential information
- Setting up
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Another Cannabis Update
This post is a quick update to our past posts on the legalization of cannabis. You can see everything we have written about the legalization of cannabis and how to prepare your workplace here.
More changes are afoot to Ontario’s planned rollout of recreational cannabis. The Doug Ford government has reversed the previous administration’s …
Legalization of Cannabis Update
The Canadian government’s legalization of recreational cannabis has again lately been a hot news item. Initially, there were some reports that recreational cannabis was to be legalized this week, by July 1, 2018. For a variety of reasons that date has been pushed back. Legalization is now set for October 17, 2018.
For more details …
Remote Workers: Pros, Cons and Tips
I love technology and embrace the changes it brings to the workplace. One way we see a big shift is the rising popularity of remote working. Our firm, SpringLaw, is totally remote so perhaps I have a slight bias, but remote working has several advantages.
Remote working can also present some challenges. Employers interested …
Remembrance Day Enacted as a Legal Holiday
Remembrance Day in the Spring? With long weekends on the horizon as summer finally rolls in, we turn our minds to the holiday that only some of us get off – Remembrance Day.
Spring discussion of Remembrance is, in fact, timely. In March 208, a law amending the Holidays Act passed in the House of …
Sexual Harassment and Valentine’s Day
By now everyone should know that sexual harassment is not permissible in the workplace, but even amidst the flurry of allegations we have seen in the #metoo era, exactly what constitutes sexual harassment might still be a little fuzzy. With love in the air today, workers across the land might be wondering, can I ask …
Religious Accommodation in the Workplace
Merry Christmas! Wait. What? Can we still say that in public? Why yes, we can, but not at the cost of excluding all other religions in the workplace.
For those that do not celebrate Christian holidays (and/or secular commercial holidays derived from Christian traditions), focusing only on Christian traditions can feel like exclusion.
It’s hard …
18 Month Federal Parental Leave
The Liberal government has introduced changes to the federal parental leave benefits program. Details of the changes were announced early November and are set to come into force on December 3, 2017. This change is separate from the various Bill 148 changes coming down the pipe.
What’s New?
These are not additional monetary benefits, but…
Post-Termination Bonus Entitlement

Bonus entitlement is always a juicy topic. In September the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released a decision that shed some light on the issue of how entitlement to a bonus will be treated where an employer has no formal bonus policy, but a consistent past …