The CEWS, the CERB and Returning to Work
Photo by Ewien van Bergeijk – Kwant on Unsplash
As we look towards returning to work and re-opening businesses we thought we would re-visit the CEWS and CERB, both of which have recently been extended.
The CEWS (Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy) continues to provide employers with a wage subsidy to bring employees back. The CERB (Canada Emergency Response Benefit) may be working against employers in some instances, where employees do not want to come back or serve to make more money by not working and staying on the CERB.
Extension of the CEWS
The government has doubled the length of the CEWS program to now extend until August 29, 2020. Eligibility for the CEWS is broken down into periods, where an employer needs to demonstrate a specific revenue reduction for that period. Periods 5 (July 5 – August 1) and 6 (August 2 to August 29) are expected to require a 30% reduction in revenue, however, details have not yet been announced.
As many of our readers and clients know, we have been cautioning that the legality of certain layoffs and job changes necessitated by COVID-19 is uncertain. Generally, layoffs are only legal if the employment contract gives the employer the right to layoff, and many other job changes, such as reductions in hours or pay, raise the risk of constructive dismissal. We anticipated that at some point the Ontario government may weigh in and change the law – on Friday they did. 
Ontario potentially has another new COVID-19 related law on the horizon, this time related to worker’s compensation. On May 19, 
By now the CERB (the Canada Emergency Response Benefit) has entered the common parlance but questions about this benefit still abound. Employers and employees are still puzzling over some aspects of this benefit. We address some of the confusion in this post. 
