Ontario Extends Pandemic Layoff Rules & Here Are 3 Things A Lawyer Says You Should Know
If you're called back to work you have to return.
Temporary changes to the pandemic layoff rules have been extended in Ontario, and a Toronto lawyer shared what people should know before they come to an end.
The Ontario government announced that the temporary changes to the Employment Standards Act, which helps non-unionized employees experiencing layoffs avoid being fired, have been extended until July 30, 2022.
These changes "protect jobs and businesses" by preventing businesses from being forced to fire their employees when their ESA temporary layoff periods end and spare them from payouts that could put them under, according to a news release posted on December 7.
Employees who have been laid off because of the pandemic are instead placed on Infectious Disease Emergency Leave.
Dave McKechnie, a Toronto lawyer with expertise in labour relations, told Narcity the three things people need to know about this extension.
Don't expect an entitlement in July 2022
McKechnie says the first thing to be aware of for employees on temporary layoff periods is that the "clock doesn't start until they end this COVID-19 period."
"It's not that your entitlement is coming up in July 2022. It's that the clock starts in July 2022," said McKechnie.
This means laid-off employees shouldn't expect a payout of severance in July 2022 for being temporarily laid off for an extended amount of time as the "clock" for layoff starts back up on August 1, 2022.
So any employee termination due to being laid off would occur in the following 13 or 35 weeks.
If you're called back to work, you have to go
If your employer rings you up and asks you to come back to work and you've got another job during your temporary layoff or just don't want to return, don't expect any severance.
According to McKechnie "if the employer ever calls you to work, you have to return or you give up that right to notice and severance."
Know the difference between a 13 and 35-week layoff
Once July 30 rolls around if you're still laid off it's important to know whether you're on a 13 or 35-week layoff according to McKechnie because if that time is exceeded after July 30 your employer will have to terminate you and you'll be able to get severance from them.
McKechnie says there are six reasons why a 13-week layoff becomes a 35-week layoff and that "the ministry has good resources to explain what the difference is."
Some of the reasons a 13 week lay off can turn into a 35-week layoff according to McKechnie are if "substantial payments" are still being given to employees by their employer, if an employer continues offering benefits, and if an employer offers a "sub plan" and "tops off" an employees' Employment Insurance.