To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com.
Given the many challenges in 2020 of managing a workplace in
the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, employers may not have been
able to focus on non-pandemic priorities. However, it is not too
late to tackle key, non-COVID, action items with some pro-active
planning in early 2021. These key items are set out below.
Employment Agreements - Update Termination Provisions
As discussed in this blog (see here and here), the Ontario courts released a series of
decisions in 2020 relating to contractual termination provisions.
These decisions took particular aim at the termination for cause
Since March 2020, the JobKeeper payment (
JobKeeper) has undergone multiple amendments to ensure that it not only continues to support employers and employees who remain adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic but to keep the economy stimulated for the months and years to come. Now, in January 2021, JobKeeper moves to its second phase extension period which currently is proposed to end on 28 March 2021.
Turnover Eligibility for JobKeeper in the period from 4 January 2021 to 28 March 2021
To claim JobKeeper in this time period a business must, amongst other things, show that:
It meets the actual decline in turnover test – for a business whose aggregated turnover is $1 billion or less then it must show that its actual GST turnover in the December 2020 quarter declined by at least 30% relative to a comparable period (usually the December 2019 quarter); and
To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com.
In light of the increasing COVID-19 cases in the province, on
January 12, 2021, the Ontario government declared a second state of
emergency under the
Emergency and Civil Protection
Act. At that time, the government announced that it would
issue a range of other orders to enhance the restrictions in place
in the province. Effective 12:01 a.m. on January 14, 2021, a
Stay-at-Home order (the “Order”) came into effect in
Ontario. The Ontario government released the Order and Regulation
10/21 (the “Regulation”) amending the existing rules in
Stage 1 of Ontario s reopening plan only hours before the
On January 13, 2021 the Ontario Government issued an Emergency
Order under the
Emergency Management and Civil Protection
Act, which includes a directive to stay home (the Order ). The Government has also updated
various restrictions that have been in place throughout the
pandemic. The Order comes into effect January 14th, 2021 and is set
for 28 days.
For purposes of this Article, we have listed below notable
points for employers as they navigate the constantly changing
regulatory landscape:
The Order is in effect for all of
Ontario. The policy goal is for individuals to stay home in order
to limit gatherings and outings to what is truly necessary to curb
Ontario has declared a second provincial emergency under the
Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act in response
to the growing number of COVID-19 cases in the province.
Effective Thursday, January 14 at 12:01 a.m., the
Ontario government is imposing a
stay-at-home
order requiring Ontarians to remain at home, with
exceptions for permitted purposes or activities such as going to
the grocery store or pharmacy, accessing health care services, for
exercise, or for essential work.
Key Changes to Public Health Restrictions:
Employees are to work from home with
limited exception, for instance, where the nature of their work
requires them to be on-site at the workplace;