As you may have heard, the Ontario government has now officially passed Bill 27: Working for Workers Act, 2021 as of December 2nd, 2021. This employee-friendly legislation includes the prohibition of non-compete agreements, workplace washroom access for delivery workers, policy on disconnecting from work, use of WSIB insurance fund surplus, and licensing for recruiters and temporary help agencies. Here is Bill 27 & what it entails.
- Employers are now prohibited from entering into non-compete agreements with employees forbidding engagement in any work, business, occupation, project, or profession that is in competition with the employer’s business after the relationship as employee-employer has been ceased/terminated/come to an end. This does not apply to non-competes that are entered into prior to October 25th, 2021.
- Employers are required to provide washroom access to delivery workers unless the provision of access poses a risk to the health and safety of persons in the workplace.
- Workplaces with 25+ employees are required to implement a written “Disconnect from Work” policy that prohibits work and/or work-related communications outside of regular business hours and instead explicitly states the expectations of the employee. Employers have until June 2nd to put this policy into effect.
- In order to dampen the impact of COVID-19 on businesses, insurance fund surpluses are to be distributed amongst Schedule 1 employers by the WSIB, and employer remittances are to be streamlined.
- Employers are prohibited from knowingly engaging with unlicensed recruiters and temporary agencies as they are now all required to hold a license.
Although Bill-27 has received Royal Assent, employers are reminded that it is subject to change whether to include more detail or exemptions from the ban on non-competes. It is recommended that employers seek counsel when drafting policies, restrictive covenants, and employment agreements.
Author: Bryan Payne is the Chief Talent Scout and Founding Partner at Just Sales Jobs with over 25-years of experience in sales and leading high-performance sales teams. Bryan and his team specialize in recruiting top talent within the Greater Toronto Area to Kitchener Waterloo. You can reach him at bp@justsalesjobs.com