The 2016 budget season brings changes to the law of work. Both the Ontario and the Canadian Federal Governments have released their annual budgets, which will mean many debates around the cabinet and dinner table with plenty of changes in store for both employers and employees. Both budgets reflect trends that we have seen in […]

There is a new trend in the workplace which has seen an increase in the number of people being termed “contractors”. As a result of this shift, contractors are often paid more than their employee counterparts and thus often think they are not entitled to the benefits of being an employee, including notice upon termination.

In a policy position paper on gender-specific dress codes, released on March 8 by the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC), the OHRC sought to put an end to sexualized dress codes. The release of this paper also fell on International Women’s Day, a day earmarked to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of

Statutory entitlements after the expiry of limitation – you can receive entitlements more than two years after they become payable. Many employees are wrongfully led to believe that they are not entitled to overtime. Some years later, often when they are let go and discuss with an employment lawyer, these employees realize their entitlements. Companies

Many employers have dress codes as a part of their policy handbook. But what happens when a dress code goes beyond attire, banning employees from displaying body art and piercings during work hours? This week’s blog post explores the issue further, looking at cases wherein dress codes involving tattoos and piercings have been found to

When most individuals think of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and its purpose, they think “employee protection”. However, the ESA Regulations exclude certain occupations from protections such as overtime pay and minimum wage. This weeks’ blog post explores who is exempted, as well as some of the theories as to why. For more details, visit

Discrimination on the basis of disability is one of the more severe forms of discrimination, particularly in the workplace, considering that a termination can further disadvantage a disabled individual who is typically already impaired by his or her disability. Trends in Damage Awards The human rights tribunals of Canada, and the courts, seemed to take

Working notice is typically a less popular topic of discussion in employment law given the concerns related to providing working notice over pay in lieu thereof. While they are numerous, the most common concerns are: Lack of employee motivation Potential for retaliation Confidentiality/ Competitive concerns (employee access to information) Difficulty in mitigation (from an employee

In accordance with section 54 of the Employment Standards Act, 2000, employees employed continuously for three (3) months or more must be provided with statutory minimum notice. But does this mean that employers can automatically deny employees of less than three (3) months with termination pay, or reasonable common law notice? The common law says

This post explores a major employer “don’t”: firing employees for attempting to unionize. A significant number, but not a majority, of Canadian workers are unionized. In accordance with the “Union Coverage in Canada, 2013” report by Statistics Canada, published June 11, 2014, a total of 4,735,367 workers were covered by collective agreements, an increase of 1.5%