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The COVID-19 pandemic continues to significantly impact workplaces in Canada and around the globe. Due to severe economic hardship, many employers have temporarily laid off their employees and face uncertainty as to when their employees can return to work. Are you a federally regulated employee? Federally regulated employees are governed by the Canada Labour Code […]

Toronto and Peel Region moved to Phase 2 of Ontario’s reopening plan as of today, June 24, 2020. The reopening will impact employees, many may face many new challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read on to learn about some of the potential employment issues that may accompany Stage 2 and how to

It happens all too often: an employee is terminated, finds the perfect new job in the industry, and then is notified by their past employer that they are breaking a non-competition, non-solicitation, or confidentiality clause in their past employment contract. These provisions, which all fall under the umbrella of “restrictive covenants” and are also known

With the COVID-19 pandemic employees and employers often go back to the employment agreements to review their rights and obligations in case of termination. Beware! What you read in the contract might not be the full story. Recently, the Ontario Court of Appeal rendered a very important decision that clarifies that if any part of

Is jury duty mandatory in Ontario? Currently, Ontario allows a jury of six people to assess damages and decide issues of fact in civil cases, except in certain situations where it’s prohibited by statute. It is the civic duty of all Canadian citizens 18 years of age and older to serve as a juror if

We have prepared a helpful infographic to guide returning to work after while the economy is opening up after the COVID-19 lockdown. Decision Tree for Employees and Employers: How To Make Return to Work Decision  Monkhouse Law is an employment law firm in Toronto with a particular focus on employee and workers’ issues. If we

What is severance pay in Ontario? In Ontario, employees who have lost their job may be entitled to severance pay. The Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 establishes that the minimum amount of severance you are entitled to be one week’s pay per year of employment if you have worked five years or more. However, that is just

In 2020, the Ontario government, without any advance warning,  issued a significant regulation, O. Reg. 228/20, that appears to attempt to make life more predictable for employers (Infections Disease Emergency Leave Regulation or IDEL Regulation). It prevents employees from complaining that they have been “constructively dismissed” to the Ministry of Labour. The new regulation declares

Have you heard of workplaces asking employees to be on a 9 to 5 video call with their managers while working from home? While that sounds wrong, is it illegal? In brief, the answer is that while reasonable employee monitoring is allowed, substantial changes to the employment contract are invalid if the employer doesn’t provide

A non compete clause in Ontario is a provision that some employers include in their employment contracts to prevent former employees from working for a competing employer or from starting their own business that provides the same services. It is important to note that non-competition is not an implied term of an employment contract in