Office workers forced to take vacation days or return to work

As COVID-19 continues into the fall and schools are set to open, some parents are opting to stay at home and educate their children instead. While some companies and employers are taking parents’ choices into consideration others have chosen alternative solutions.

LEARN MORE:
• How severance pay works for Hydro One employees

Hydro One office employees in Ottawa are being told by employers if they choose to remain at home, they will have to use their vacation days. Ottawa employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP Alex Lucifero joins Ottawa at Work with Graham Richardson to discuss this situation and more.

What They Discussed

• Is it surprising that some companies like Hydro One have chosen not to adopt new policies because of COVID-19?  This issue should have been resolved as we are closer to the start of the school year by now. As a parent and as an employee, if you have no other option in terms of childcare if your parents are below school attending age, your employer does have an obligation to accommodate.
• Does the obligation lie with the employer to aid their employee if there is a lack of childcare? An employer does have an obligation particularly if there is a past history of allowing employees to work from home, but only in specific situations.
• Have employers looked for easy solutions instead of planning ahead during COVID-19? Employment rights unfortunately have not changed during the pandemic, these kinds of disputes will have to be resolved with previous policies in place. However, many employers will have to adjust to the changing work environment.
• Has there been a rise in the number of disputes between employees and employers? There have been more health and safety disputes over policies, but most have been resolved. Temporary layoff disputes have also been very frequent.