Mass Layoffs and Remote Employee Rights: Canadian HR Reporter Interview

A regulatory change proposed by the Ontario government aims to ensure that remote workers aren’t exempt from severance entitlements in the event of a mass layoff.

The legislation has led to many questions surrounding non-unionized employees working from home — including if they are missing out on vital workplace rights.

Jon Pinkus, an Ontario employment lawyer and Partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, spoke to Canadian HR Reporter about the province’s proposed changes and how it will affect remote workers.

“There’s nothing wrong with it, I think it’s the right move, I think it’s correct for them to be including remote workers in this, it’s logical,” says Pinkus.

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“But, is it going to make any difference whatsoever from a practical standpoint? I doubt it.”

Pinkus adds that this legislation, like the Ford government’s right-to-disconnect policy, lacks substance.

“These are all things that sound nice, but when you actually look at the legislation, they don’t create any substantive rights for the employees. In this case, they technically do create a substantive right, but one that’s not actually meaningful.”

Pinkus noted that the current laws surrounding mass layoffs remain quite narrow.

“Basically, the rule is you have to give them an increased amount of notice. You may have someone who’s only been employed for two weeks, but they’re still entitled to eight weeks’ or even 16 weeks’ notice because they fall under the mass layoff provisions.”

Ultimately, Pinkus says non-unionized employees working remotely in Ontario shouldn’t be focused on their minimum entitlements.

“Really, what matters for these people is common law entitlements and those mass termination provisions matter very little to those people.”