CONTACT US (613) 722-1500

The Temporary Suspension of Temporary Layoff Rules Now a Little Less Temporary

The Temporary Suspension of Temporary Layoff Rules Now a Little Less Temporary

By:

Mann Lawyers

Posted September 4, 2020

On September 3, 2020 the Ontario Government announced that they were extending the stay on the temporary layoff rules under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) to prevent temporary layoffs from automatically becoming permanent job losses.

Normally, under 56 (2) of the ESA once an employee has been on a temporary layoff for more than 13 weeks (or 20 weeks if the employee was in receipt of certain benefits) the temporary layoff is converted to a dismissal.  This dismissal triggers the employer’s obligation to provide notice/severance.  The concern the government is trying to address is that many businesses are not yet in a position to be able to recall all of their employees and those same businesses cannot afford to pay out notice and severance liabilities to their employees. This regulatory amendment delays these terminations and severance liabilities and will provide businesses more time to recover financially.

According to the announcement, employers will now have until January 2, 2021 to recall those employees they had placed on temporary layoff.

The government’s decision to have a fixed date by which employers must recall their employees is helpful although given that today (September 4) was the day that Employers were supposed to have made the decision to recall or terminate, I suspect that the news comes a little late for some.

One other rather important issue is that despite the announcement that the temporary lay off rules are being extended, the actual Regulation  228/20 – has not yet been amended (or at least not published).

This blog post was written by Colleen Hoey, a Partner in the Employment team.  She can be reached at 613-369-0366 or at Colleen.Hoey@mannlawyers.com.

More Resources

Blog |
Family Law
By: 

Posted April 29, 2025

The legal community, and certainly family law practitioners in Canada, continue to wait with bated breath on the impending decision from the Supreme Court of[...]
Blog |
Business Law
By: 

Posted April 22, 2025

You have signed a commercial lease with a landlord, but the landlord will not vacate or remove its property from the leased premises. What are[...]
Blog |
Wills, Trusts and Estates
By: 

Posted April 15, 2025

When one considers drawing up a last Will, one of the most important decisions, if not the most important, is who the beneficiaries are. In[...]
Blog |
Family Law
By: 
Navigating a divorce is undoubtedly a challenging and emotional process. If you are considering divorce in Ontario, it is important to understand the process and[...]
Blog |
Environmental Law
By: 
This blog post provides a high-level overview of the federal government’s recent final State of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Report (the “Report”) and accompanying[...]
Blog |
Real Estate
By: 
Ontario’s real estate market can present a rewarding opportunity for non-residents buying or selling property, but it requires careful planning and expertise. There are a[...]