Many Ontario employers were required to have a right-to-disconnect policy by the beginning of this month, but experts say the vague legislation might not stop the after-hours emails and calls as readily as some employees might hope.
The plan was conceived in the depth of the pandemic when many Ontarians began working remotely. Advocates hoped the provincial government's right-to-disconnect policy, which forms a section of the Working for Workers Act, would address work-life balance.
Employment lawyers and human resource management professionals say it's a positive first step and may contribute to shifts in some work cultures, but many say it relies too much on a good employer to get it right.
"The legislation is quite toothless," said Matthew Fisher, a partner at Lecker & Associates Law who specializes in employment law. "What it really does is it requires employers of a certain size in certain circumstances to make a policy," he added.
"The problem is they are relying on the good faith of employers.... There is nothing in the legislation that requires the policy to be reasonable."
June 2, 2022, was the deadline for Ontario employers with more than 25 workers to have written policies in place. They're supposed to detail how employees can disengage from work-related communications, including emails, audio and video calls and sending or receiving messages when they are meant to be off the...
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