With the right to disconnect now enshrined as law in Ontario, what happens to employees who do or do not respond to work calls after their shift has ended?
Not responding to an employer call when the policy permits disconnection, obviously, is no longer cause for discipline.
What will surprise most is that the Ontario Employment Standards Act may stipulate a minimum of three hours pay for an employee even for a 30-second, after-work call. This is not a change to the law. Section 21.2(1) states that “if an employee who regularly works more than three hours a day is required to present himself or herself for work but works less than three hours… the employer shall pay the employee wages for three hours.”
It has commonly been assumed that the section required employees to actually attend the office but, with so many working from home, it cannot be interpreted that way.
Even for those employees who work in the office, presenting oneself could well be interpreted to mean to make oneself available to perform work. That interpretation has not yet been tested, but employers contacting employees after hours will incur massive unexpected liability if the section is interpreted that way. This will not apply to salaried employees whose income includes work after hours.
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