On March 13, 2023, the Ontario government announced proposed
changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) that,
in mass termination situations, would afford employees who work
solely from home with the same notice entitlements as those who
work in-office.
Pursuant to the ESA, employees are entitled to potentially enhanced
notice of termination (or pay in lieu thereof) in the context of a
mass or group termination. A mass termination is generally
triggered if the employment of 50 or more employees at an
employer's "establishment" is terminated within a
four-week period. If there is a mass termination, employees may be
entitled to notice of eight to 16 weeks or pay in lieu, depending
on the number of employees impacted.
Currently, "establishment" is defined as a location at
which the employer carries on business. If the employer carries on
business at more than one location, separate locations constitute
one establishment if:
- The separate locations are located within the same municipality, or
- One or more employees at a location have seniority rights that extend to the other location under a written employment contract whereby the employee or employees may displace another employee of the same employer
If passed, the proposed changes would broaden the ESA's
definition of establishment to include employees' home offices.
While the legislation is not yet tabled, this change may require
that remote workers be included when calculating the number of
impacted employees. Based on the information provided to date, we
know the government intends to ensure that remote workers are
eligible to receive the same potentially enhanced notice in the
context of a mass termination.
The government is also proposing regulatory changes that would
require employers to provide new hires with information in writing
about their position, such as pay, work location and hours of work,
and the date by which that information needs to be provided.
We will continue to monitor for further updates.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.