The dust has settled post-pandemic and employees are out of sorts. Turnover is high across all industries as people regroup and sort through what they want out of their career.
We regularly hear about employees resisting commuting, moving on quicker than ever when the job gets difficult, and when regular feedback gets uncomfortable.
Nobody wants to receive a paycheque that’s smaller than they were expecting, but sometimes, wage deductions are necessary. So, when can an employer make deductions from an employee’s wages?
In Ontario, the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) provides guidelines regarding what deductions are permissible, in order to protect employees and their earnings.
Important update for all federal employers! Amendments to the Canada Labour Code are now in force as of February 1, 2024. Do you fall into this category? And if so, what does this mean for you?
Federal Employers
As we’ve discussed in a previous blog, the Canada Labour Code is a federal law which sets out minimum employment standards for sectors that fall under federal power.
Each year, our law firm goes out of town and spends a couple of days together in a big AirBnB planning the year, iterating and optimizing our systems, identifying pain points and ways to improve our client service delivery, and developing our legal skills.
Where the Real Magic Happens As a fully virtual law firm, since we started SpringLaw in 2017, these in-person annual retreats are a critical part of our infrastructure. It’s where we all really get to know each other on both a professional and personal level, where real conversations happen about what works and doesn’t work in our firm, and where a ton of problem-solving gets done.
During 2023, we saw the Ontario Court of Appeal uphold two decisions awarding notice periods beyond what was believed to be the “24-month cap” at 27 and 30 months respectively.
In another recent Ontario decision, the Court awarded 5.5 months of pay in lieu of notice to an employee with only 5 months of service prior to dismissal, which is significantly higher than the “one month per year” rule of thumb. These decisions create uncertainty for employers given the wide range of potential liability arising from wrongful dismissal claims. Fortunately, there are proactive measures employers can take to avoid this liability.
Woohoo! Mandatory policies, postings, training, legally enforceable contracts… Actually, no client has ever told us they LOVE thinking through legal compliance for their workplace. Rather, it’s the thing you have to do on top of the other revenue-generating tasks to keep the lights on.
For owner-operator employers, there is often no one to delegate this to. The internet is full of best practices and comprehensive lists of what to do, but it all eats up your time to figure out.
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Contact SpringLaw today for your workplace disputes, compliance and relationship repair issues.
416-238-8180 I info@springlaw.ca
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Toronto, Ontario, M5C 1S2