Employment

Shift workers and other employees with unpredictable work schedules face unique work-life balance challenges. Can your boss make you work afternoon shifts if local daycares close at 6pm? Can you get fired for leaving early to pick up a sick kid from school? How can you make it work if you and your partner are

The term “severance package” refers to compensation that an employee receives when their employment is terminated without cause. Often, this includes payments for termination pay or minimum notice, severance pay or reasonable notice. Sometimes it can include compensation for things like lost benefits or pension participation, re-training costs, or even human rights damages. WHAT IS

What does the law say about tipping and gratuities? Is tip pooling or tipping out legal? Can the house legally take a cut of your tips? Servers and other workers rely on tips and gratuities to improve on a low hourly wage. But they may not necessarily take home all the tips customers pass onto

If you believe it’s illegal to record your boss or tape your harasser at work, you’re not alone. But you may have been misled. In fact, most Ontario employees can legally record their boss or workplace. And recording abuse or harassment can help if you end up telling your story in court, at the Human Rights Tribunal

Is it legal for companies to post job ads stating that they prefer male job applicants? At least one Toronto-based coffee distribution company, Saint Jimmy, thinks so. It recently posted a job ad which said that candidates “would need to be able to lift 22-25 lbs minimum, so men are preferred for this position.” Unsurprisingly,

Do you need an employment law check-up? Ontario workplace laws have changed a lot in 2018. My past blog posts have addressed a few of these changes: asking for a sick note, paid personal emergency or vacation time and maternity/parental leave increases. And these touch on just a few of the recent changes. If you’re a small employer or startup looking

Freelancing, contract positions and independent contractor work are part of the millennial employment experience. Actually, it’s part of the employment experience for folks of all ages in 2018. Apps like Uber or Hyr promise to disrupt traditional employment or service models, but they have a lot of workers and workers’ rights advocates worried. How do

Do recent changes to the law bar employers from asking for a doctor’s note? If you are an employee, small employer or manager who’s heard that you just can’t ask for a doctor’s note anymore, you’re not alone. But, you probably haven’t got all the information. 2019 NOTE: RECENT AMENDMENTS HAVE REVERSED MANY 2018 ESA

A good reference letter can go a long way to help you land a job. They’re also invaluable to employers, looking to check out the claims an applicant has made in their resume or interview. But, both employers and employees have misconceptions about how the law applies to getting or providing a reference. Does your

Today is Equal Pay Day. This bittersweet holiday draws attention to the ongoing disparity between men and women’s pay. While pay discrimination has been illegal for decades, the income cap persists. In Ontario, the gender pay gap ranges from industry to industry, but averages just below 30%. The gap is wider for racialized, indigenous, trans