Turn off notifications and silence your phone: In a win for work-life balance, a new law is now in effect in Ontario that gives employees the right to ignore work emails, messages and calls after hours.
As of June 2, employers in Ontario with 25 or more employees must have a written policy on disconnecting outside business hours. The so-called "right to disconnect" rule was part of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives' Working for Workers Act, which was passed in late 2021. It’s the first law of its kind in Canada.
"'Disconnecting from work' means not engaging in work-related communications, including emails, telephone calls, video calls or the sending or reviewing of other messages, so as to be free from the performance of work," the 2021 legislation explained.
Ontario labour minister Monte McNaughton previously told CTV News the law "was created in response to the increasingly blurred lines between work and home" caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new rules in Ontario apply to all employees, including managers and executives. Company policies must clearly outline expectations, if any, about communicating outside of working hours. All Ontario employers with 25 or more employees on Jan. 1, 2022 must have a written policy as of June 2. Employers with 25 or more employees by Jan. 1, 2023 must have their policy in effect by March of that year.
Beginning in 2023, all employers with 25 or more employees must have a policy in effect by March of that year.
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