Ontario Bill 27 – Do Not Call Your Employees After Work Please

The Provincial government passed Bill 27 through the legislature in December. We continue to be of the view that this is ‘window-dressing’ ahead of an expected spring election in the new year and effectively changes nothing for most employers beyond the requirement that we write a policy for you which confirms that you will not call or message your hourly staff in the evenings to discuss work. Though regulations are not yet published, we continue to expect there will be exemptions from this new regulation for those categories of employees and managers currently excluded from overtime under the ESA (meaning Managers, Sales people, IT Staff, and many Professionals may not be covered by this proposed law). Rest assured, once the regulations are published, we will create policies for all HRLive clients to ensure compliance.

Non-Compete Clauses No Longer Permitted in Employment Contracts

The government also confirmed that exemptions will continue to exist for C-level staff for whom non-compete clauses can continue. The reality is that most clauses like this are unenforceable against former front-line and mid-level staff. Therefore, the legislation only reflects what has been happening in courts already for a very long time.  With that said, we will confirm this change in all employment agreements for HRLive clients in the new year but will continue to recommend these clauses for key executives in your organizations.

Other Provisions:

Other changes passed include:

• Mandatory licensing requirements for temporary help agencies (temp agencies).
• The right to access washrooms in the businesses and restaurants they serve for truckers and food delivery drivers.
• Regulations to improve the ability of internationally trained individuals to practice their professions in Ontario.

Federally Regulated – 10 Paid Sick Days

A few of you have asked about the 10 paid sick days that the federal government has implemented for federally-regulated businesses. Very few businesses are federally-regulated under the Canada Labour Code (the Ontario government has already declined making any moves to increase paid sick time).

We trust this update is helpful, however please feel free to contact us anytime if you have questions about this or any other HR issues.