The “right to disconnect?” Three important legal issues in work-from-home arrangements
Are you a Canadian who has questions about an employment, labour, or human rights issue? Visit us at https://www.labourrightslaw.com#yt to book a consultation with one of our lawyers. We offer consultations with our lawyers in person, over the telephone, or over Zoom.
Or give us a call: (604) 475-0041 or 1-877-708-8350 (toll-free)
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: / labourrightslawoffice
Twitter: / labourrightslaw
LinkedIn: / labour-rights-law-office
Instagram: / labourrightslaw
Subscribe to our channel for more information on employment, labour, and human rights law!
Timecodes
0:00 – Introduction
0:59 – Overtime and hours of work in a work-from-home arrangement
3:13 – Human rights in a work-from-home arrangement
4:04 – Occupational health and safety and workers compensation in a work-from-home arrangement
DISCLAIMER: The content of this video and related material is not legal advice and cannot be relied upon as legal advice. To provide legal advice on your problem, a lawyer must first understand your specific situation.
Transcript:
In October 2020, the “Right to Disconnect Advisory Committee” began meeting regularly. Its mission? To provide recommendations to Canada’s federal government on supporting their workers’ work-life balance and well-being.
For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Rebecca Jackson, a lawyer at Labour Rights Law Office. After the video, if you have any questions about your work-from-home arrangement, give us a call for a free, 30-minute consultation over Zoom. Our contact information is below.
Labour Rights Law encourages employers and employees to ensure that their work from home arrangements not only follow the law, but are capable of providing employees with the support they need to stay healthy and well. To guide employers and employees towards this goal, we discuss a number of legal issues that may arise from working from home below.
Under employment standards legislation, employers are required to pay employees overtime wages if they work more than the limits set out by the law. In BC, for example, qualifying employees are paid time-and-a-half for any time worked over eight hours in a day, up to 12 hours – and paid double-time for any time worked over 12 hours in a day. Employees in BC are also paid time-and-a-half for any time worked over 40 hours in a week.
These overtime thresholds include time spent working from home after a full workday. Employees who answer emails from their employer regularly beyond their normal working hours, or are prompted by their employer to do additional tasks after a full workday, are generally owed overtime unless they are managers or are specifically exempted. In BC, for example, overtime wages are due under the Employment Standards Act when an employer allows “directly or indirectly” an employee to work overtime. In Ontario, the Employment Standards Act simply states that an employer “shall pay” overtime “for each hour of work” of at least one and one-half times his or her regular rate for each hour of work over the overtime threshold; in other words, if the employee works overtime with or without authorization, the employer must pay it.
Typically, the obligation to keep track of overtime hours worked by an employee rests with the employer, not the employee. However, we encourage employees to keep an accurate record of their hours worked in the event that they need to submit a claim for overtime pay through the complaint process provided under employment standards legislation. An adjudicator evaluating the employee’s claim for overtime pay will make findings of facts based on the evidence available – so records of hours worked, email trails, or records kept on electronic devices will help an employee succeed in his or her overtime claim.
Employers may also breach hours of work provisions under employment standards legislation if employees are required to spend excessive time on their mobile devices or doing remote work all hours from home. In BC, for example, the Employment Standards Act states that “an employer must not require or directly or indirectly allow an employee to work excessive hours or hours detrimental to the employee’s health or safety.” Employers should always provide support to any employees who come to them with a reasonable belief that working excessive hours is having a negative impact on their health.
In every Canadian jurisdiction, it is against the law for employers to discriminate against employees based on prohibited grounds in applicable human rights statutes. These prohibited grounds include family status and mental disability.
Full Transcript: link TBD