This week in Ontario many businesses are re-openingThis week in Ontario many businesses are re-opening. Employers and employees alike have questions about going back to work and the intersection of re-starting businesses with the various government subsidies that have been tiding many people over. 

Bringing Employees Back to Work Using the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)

Many employers have laid off a good portion of their workforce and now with re-opening are looking to bring some of those workers back. Businesses that have been hit hard financially may be able to take advantage of the CEWS while earnings are still uncertain as business ramps back up. Getting the CEWS for employees who have been laid off is a little complicated because of the definition of an eligible employee. But first, let’s look at eligible employers. 

Continue Reading Government Benefits and Bringing Employees Back: The CERB and CEWS

Can I Afford Legal AdviceHow Can I Afford Legal Advice?

Many employers are facing rock hard choices right now: layoff on shaky legal ground or go bankrupt? Let some employees go, but how to afford termination pay? Offer more than ESA minimums to get a release or risk a claim down the road?

Since early March 2020, we’ve found

Blue_jayBlue Jays-itis, Blue Jay Fever, the Blue Flu…whatever you call it some sort of strange illness has taken over Canadian workplaces with employees calling in sick, skipping out early or hunched secretively over their computers all in the name of baseball.

I have discussed the issue of sports and impacts on workplace productivity before. With all the excitement, and games taking place during work hours, it seems timely to re-visit the topic.

Continue Reading Alert! Blue-Flu Hits Canada

Privacy and Porn on Workplace ComputersEmployees have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the personal information on their workplace computers, even if that expectation can be significantly diminished with effective workplace policies and practices.  However, whether such reasonable expectations extend to workplace computer evidence admitted in a criminal proceeding was addressed in last Friday’s highly anticipated Supreme Court of Canada

The Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with a Disability set out the rights and obligations regarding employees, but what about volunteers?  A reader of this blog (thanks Angie!) has asked about the application of these laws when recruiting volunteers.  Human rights codes across Canada work largely the same on this issue,

Mandatory Workplace Postings in Ontario - Lisa StamI doubt there is anything more dry than reading a blog post about mandatory workplace government posters, but it’s a mandatory requirement that comes with fines and cranky inspectors if you don’t comply with the requirements. And I will try to make this a short post to minimize the pain.

New OHSA Requirement

As of

Working from home, telecommuting, flexible hours, – whatever you call it, it is part of the Gen Y paradigm of focusing on work product rather than work process. In an information economy where so many workers are producing electronic written and graphic content rather than a physical product, many employees are pushing to work where

Many Ontario employees will be surprised to learn that the Civic Holiday on the first Monday of August is not a statutory holiday in Ontario.  If your private sector workplace offers the day off, it is a perk, not a requirement.  The Ontario Employment Standards Act is silent on this holiday, and while many collective

The United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) just held its annual conference in Geneva from June 1-18, 2010.  The purpose of the annual conference is to develop and monitor compliance with international labour standards. 

The ILO is a tripartite agency of the United Nations, comprised of employer, employee and government representatives.  They have been responsible for pushing forward numerous