In Ontario, some significant changes are being proposed to the Employment Standards Act – the important words is “proposed” in that sentence, there is time for Employers to chime in with their thoughts. Our firm does not represent Employees in Employment Law issues, so our focus is solely on the Employer’s end of things.
The summary of the report, in my opinion, reads very much that Employers are evil and need to be reigned in by a more robust Ministry of Labour.
The reality is that we currently live in an age of Employment Law where the scale is already weighted very heavily in favour of the Employee. If an Employee is terminated without cause and without a contract limiting the amount of Notice of Termination they are entitled to, the Courts are consistently awarding at least one month for each year worked. That’s a lot of Notice for an Employer to pay out if they’re already downsizing for financial reasons.
Think the workplace is not weighted in favour of an Employee? Try navigating the challenge of terminating an Employee who claims to have a disability: have you accommodated them to the point of undue hardship? No, well, then you’re going to pay a lot.
Ensuring that Employees are not discriminated against and given fair Notice of Termination is already the law in Ontario.
Some of the new proposals include requiring Employers to pay for doctor’s notes if they require them. Really? Wow. That’s lovely and butts up nicely against the duty to accommodate disabilities which require Doctor’s input.
I recognize there are some bad apple Employers out there, but most of the Employers are looking to create a team of people who work with them to create a successful business. Let’s not punish the good apples for the bad behaviour of the bad apples.