Ban on non-compete-agreements and right to disconnect policy already the law in many cases: lawyers
While Ontario’s recently enacted workplace legislation includes a requirement employers develop a policy related to the right to disconnect after work, as well as a prohibition – with some exceptions – on non-compete agreements, these standards were already available to many workers under the Employment Standards Act (ESA) and common-law, say lawyers.
Ontario’s Working for Workers Act was introduced in October and received Royal Assent Dec. 2. Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development, Monte McNaughton, said the changes would “rebalance the scales and put workers in the driver’s seat,” attract talent to the province and ensure “labour laws keep pace with the acceleration of new technology, automation and remote work.”
Among its provisions, the law requires employers with 25 employees or more to have a written policy about employees disconnecting after work. It also prohibits non-compete agreements, with exceptions for certain c-suite executives and when the business is being sold. Non-compete agreements restrict employees leaving a company from taking new jobs within the same field of business. According to the province’s announcement, Ontario is the first jurisdiction in Canada to ban non-compete agreements and “establish policies that help workers disconnect from their employment responsibilities.”
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