Provincially regulated employers with operations in Ontario should be aware of the following upcoming and proposed amendments to the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA).
On November 27, 2025, Ontario Bill 30, Working for Workers Seven Act, 2025, received royal assent, and the following changes to the ESA came into force.
Under this new provision of the ESA, employees are entitled to three days of unpaid leave if they receive notice of mass termination. Mass termination occurs when 50 or more employees are terminated in the same four-week period. The purpose of this leave is to help employees engage in job searching, interviewing and training. Employers are entitled to request reasonable evidence about an employee’s entitlement to this leave.
Under this amendment to the ESA, extended layoffs may be permissible in certain circumstances. The layoff may be 35 or more weeks in any period of 52 consecutive weeks, but not 52 or more weeks in any period of 78 consecutive weeks, so long as:
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