Due to the pandemic and evolving technology, the nature of work and the workplace have significantly changed. More and more organizations have permanently included remote or hybrid work arrangements as an option available to employees. The pandemic made remote work essential, and technology has facilitated performing work from any location.
Although there are some benefits to remote work, for many this has resulted in being available after regular work hours. As a result, it has created an unhealthy work environment for staff. In turn, it has increased employee turnover and retention issues and created overtime and other claims for employers.
Advocates for mental health have called on governments to implement a right to disconnect policy for employees, allowing them to disengage from work-related communications, either after certain hours or during certain times of the day.
In Ontario, it is not just a best practice for employees to have a right to disconnect from work; it became law on January 1, 2022. Employers with 25 or more employees as of January 1 of each year must assess their workplace and implement a written policy for disconnecting from work for all employees by March 1 of each year. However, employers have until June 2, 2022, to meet the new requirement. Employers must distribute a copy of the policy to each employee. Thereafter, employers must review the policy annually.
To help employers comply, a disconnecting from work policy was added to PolicyPro in the Ontario Human Resources database. Like all PolicyPro model policies, the Disconnecting from Work policy includes in-depth commentary that explains why the policy is needed, as well as the factors and laws that are important to understand before customizing the policy for your organization’s needs.
No other jurisdiction has yet enacted similar legislation. Since the right to disconnect is becoming a best practice, the Disconnecting from Work policy will soon be added to the other HR policy databases.
If you are a subscriber, log into PolicyPro and look for policy 2.31 Disconnecting from Work in the Ontario HR database. If you are not a subscriber, click here to take a trial or request a demo.
- Disconnecting from work policy - February 17, 2022