Payroll

Three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk

January 8, 2020 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Source Deductions and Reporting, Training and Development, Wages and Compensation, 0

The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with workplace etiquette, 2020 payroll rates and the federal government’s mandate letters.

basic personal amounts, employment law, Mandate letters, maximum assessable earnings, minimum wage rates, payroll rates, workers' compensation premium rates, workplace etiquette

Notable cases of 2019

January 8, 2020 Lisa Stam, Spring Law Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Training and Development, 0

As we shut the door on 2019 and begin 2020, we at SpringLaw thought this was a good time to look back on some of the biggest 2019 employment law cases in Ontario! Here is our list of the top 5 cases of 2019 and their key take-aways for employers and employees alike.

employment law, forced retirement, harassment, infliction of mental distress, notice period, resignation, retirement, terminated without cause

Termination clauses: (Yet) another one bites the dust

January 7, 2020 Doug MacLeod, MacLeod Law Firm Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, 0

I advise employers and employees and therefore regularly draft and review termination clauses. The issue of whether a termination clause complies with the minimum notice requirements set out in the Employment Standards Act (the “ESA”) may be the most litigated issue in employment law over the past 5 years. So employment lawyers like me pay close attention to what the courts are saying on this issue.

contract negotiations, employment contracts, employment law, Employment Stadards Act, termination clauses

Long-awaited regulations regarding placement agencies in Quebec set to come into effect on January 1, 2020

January 3, 2020 Occasional Contributors Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, French Based HR/RH Content, Human Resources, Payroll, Recruiting and Hiring, Source Deductions and Reporting, Training and Development, Wages and Compensation, 0

The wait is over. Announced along with the sweeping changes to Quebec’s Act respecting labour standards (the “Act”) back in June 2018, the regulation regarding Quebec placement agencies has finally been published and is set to come into effect on January 1, 2020 (the “Regulation”).

Act Respecting Labour Standards, employment law, placement agencies, protection of workers, temporary foreign workers, working conditions

Three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk

January 2, 2020 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Penalties and Fines, Pensions and Benefits, Source Deductions and Reporting, Wages and Compensation, 0

The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with the Ontario no smoking signs, constructive dismissal and harassment as well as 2020 payroll rates.

2020 payroll rates, constructive dismissal, employment law, no smoking signs, smoking ban

Top 10 most-read First Reference Talks blog posts for 2019

December 24, 2019 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Penalties and Fines, Pensions and Benefits, Privacy and Security, Source Deductions and Reporting, Wages and Compensation, 0

This year on the First Reference Talks blog, we’ve been covering some of the hot topics in employment and labour law and employee management. Making the list this year are blog posts on the topic of termination (again), on breaching confidentiality, privacy and the duty to accommodate among others.

breach of confidentiality, Discretionary bonus, Dismissal, employment contracts, employment law, pay reduction, planned layoffs, poor performance, progressive discipline, Severance pay

Denial of employee benefits to working seniors: a charter violation

December 24, 2019 Devry Smith Frank LLP Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, 0

On May 18, 2018, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario rendered its decision with respect to the issue of whether s. 25(2.1) of the Human Rights Code, when read alongside s. 44 of the Employment Standards Act, 2000, permitted employers to terminate benefits for employees when they turned 65. In Talos v. Grand Erie District School Board, the Tribunal found that such a termination violated s. 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, because it was a form of age discrimination.

age discrimination, age discrimination claim, age-based discrimination, discrimination based on age, employment law, health benefits, insurance benefits

A wrongful dismissal time warp – When is two years really six?

December 23, 2019 Stringer LLP Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, 0

Perhaps, when an ex-employee takes six years to “discover” that they were wrongfully dismissed.

employment law, Limitations Act, termination, two-year limitation period, wrongful dismissal

Entitlements to public holidays during the holiday season

December 20, 2019 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Wages and Compensation, 0

There are a number of upcoming public (statutory or general) holidays that require employers to provide paid days off to employees. Below, we have summarized some the most important obligations with respect to those holidays.

employment law, employment standards act, Holiday Season 2019-2020, Public Holiday Pay, public holidays, statutory holidays, time off during the holidays, Time off with pay

Work is work: Duration of dependent contractor status to be included in notice calculations

December 20, 2019 Devan Marr Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Wages and Compensation, 0

In the recent decision of Cormier v. St. Joseph Communications, the Court of Appeal upheld a motion judge’s finding that when calculating reasonable notice periods, an employee is entitled to include the duration of time they were an dependent contractor. This case highlights the risks posed by evolving employment relationships and the importance of drafting legally defensible termination clauses.

dependent contractor, economic dependency, employment law, employment relationship, independent contractor, reasonable notice period, termination clauses of an employment contract, wrongful dismissal claim

Three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk

December 19, 2019 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Recruiting and Hiring, Source Deductions and Reporting, Wages and Compensation, 0

The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with contracting out of the Ontario ESA, entitlements to public holidays and discrimination against a job applicant.

discrimination in hiring, employment contracts, employment law, Public Holiday Pay, public holidays, saving clause

Top employment law cases of the 2010s

December 19, 2019 Jeff Dutton, Dutton Employment Law Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Wages and Compensation, 0

In order of appearance, from newest to oldest, here are the employment law cases that shaped Ontario and to some extent every jurisdiction in Canada in the 2010s:

bad faith in the employer's conduct, employment law, executive compensation, foreign arbitration clauses, incentive compensation plans, sexual assault and harassment, statutory termination pay, summary judgement, termination, Termination clause

Informal work should still be governed by “formal” employment contracts

December 17, 2019 Piccolo Heath LLP Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring, Source Deductions and Reporting, Wages and Compensation, 0

There is certainly no “one size fits all” model when it comes to a written employment contract. The agreement doesn’t need to be long or complicated… or “formal”, but it is perhaps naïve in today’s work environment, including in the “gig economy”, to believe that the good natured feelings present at the beginning of the work relationship will always be there, or that you’ll part ways with a temporary or short-term employee on good terms in every instance; or to believe that everyone is in agreement as to just how “independent” the employee is.

employment contract, employment law, employment relationship, gig economy, independent and dependent contractors and employees, piecework, short-term employment contracts, terms of employment, vacation time and pay, written contracts of employment

“Failsafe” language fails to save termination provision

December 16, 2019 Sean Bawden Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, 0

If a contractual termination clause provides for “the greater of” ESA entitlements and a set amount, will the guarantee of “the greater of” act as a failsafe if the rest of the provision is contrary to the provisions of the ESA?

contractual termination provisions, employment law, greater benefit, statutory entitlements, Termination clause, termination of employment, termination provision, working notice