NOT SO FAST: A COMMENTARY ON ONTARIO’S PROPOSED NEW LABOUR LAWS
On March 30, 2017 the Ontario Government announced its intention to introduce new workplace legislation known as The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017.
The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 was designed to help safeguard employees and create more equitable and better overall workplaces, and it was created in response to the Changing Workplaces Review, which was a government commissioned report that was conducted over the course of the past two years.
In total, 173 recommendations have been made, including increasing minimum wage, introducing paid personal emergency leaves, increasing minimum paid vacation standards, stepping up enforcement of employment legislation, and simplifying the calculation for paying public holiday pay.
The proposed legislation would undoubtedly have an impact on many employers in Ontario.
However, at this point the Ontario government has only announced its intention to introduce this new legislation, and is proposing a broad consultation process to gain feedback from a wide variety of stakeholders on the 173 recommendations.
At this time, we advise clients to not overreact to these recent announcements. This Act is still a work in progress and much can happen over the next few months.
….Remember the ORPP? 
NCHR will continue to monitor the progress of these proposed changes.
FROM THE NCHR HOTLINE - NON-COMPETE CLAUSES ARE DIFFICULT TO ENFORCE
Part 2:
In our last e-newsletter we discussed some of the challenges organizations face when attempting to implement typical Non-Compete and/or Non-Solicitation clauses, particularly to restrict former employees from poaching their clients. We promised to delve further into some creative strategies that have improved the outlook in this area for employers.
- Be very specific and reasonable.
A non-compete clause that states your employee is not permitted to work for a direct competitor in a role selling the product or service that you currently employ them to sell, at the ‘123 Main Street’ location of that competitor, for a period of 6 months after leaving your organization, provides arguably specific and reasonable restrictions. This will improve the likelihood of the restrictive provisions being upheld, and is generally a better alternative than broadly restricting an employee from working in the same industry, which is largely ineffective.
2. Outline consequences.
A creative approach that is becoming more popular (and at times successful) involves establishing financial penalties the employee will have to pay their former employer when customers follow them to their new job.
For instance, and in basic terms for explanation purposes, ‘if you provide similar services or products to one of our clients after you leave our organization, you will provide our company with a 10% payment (or perhaps a lump sum payment) on all sales of that specific product or service for a period of 1 year’.
Non-Compete and Non-Solicitation clauses will continue to be difficult to enforce going forward, however case law is evolving and we are starting to see some trends such as those outlined above which appear to increase the likelihood of success.
 PLEASE ‘FOLLOW’ OUR NEW COMPANY LINKEDIN PAGE
NCHR has recently launched a new LinkedIn Company page and would appreciate your support. The more ‘followers’ we have, the more exposure our job postings (for clients like you) will receive.
Please have a look at our Company Page HERE and ‘follow’ us.
Your support is appreciated.
Thank-you, Neil
Contact us for more information: info@nchr.ca - 905-818-NCHR - http://www.nchr.ca
This e-newsletter from NCHR Consulting & Recruitment Services contains important information about HR related legislative updates and other best practice suggestions and lessons learned, to help you better manage your business and employee situations.
NCHR e-newsletter: Thirteenth Edition
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