Right to disconnect is one of the revolutionary amendments the Working for Workers Act (Bill 27) brought to the Employment Standards Act (“ESA”). As per the new act, employers in Ontario with 25 or more employees must have a written Right to Disconnect Policy in place before June 2, 2022.
What is the Right to Disconnect
The pandemic has forced many companies to implement remote-working, and the line between professional and personal life has become more blurred. As a result, many employees found it difficult to unplug from their professional lives. The Right to Disconnect allows employees to be free from work-related responsibilities after work hours. The amendment was one of the highlights of the Working for Workers Act, 2021.
Interpretation
The term “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.
What should employers do?
1. Have a written policy on disconnecting from work
On January 1 of any year, an employer that employs 25 or more employees shall ensure it has a written policy in place before March 1 of that year, for all employees with respect to disconnecting from work that includes the date the policy was prepared and the date any changes were made to the policy.
2. Provide a copy of the policy to employees
An employer shall provide a copy of the written policy with respect to disconnecting from work to each of the employer’s employees within 30 days of preparing the policy or, if an existing written policy is changed, within 30 days of the changes being made.
3. New Employees
An employer shall provide a copy of the written policy with respect to disconnecting from work that applies to a new employee within 30 days of the day the employee becomes an employee of the employer.
4. Provide Training
Train all your employees on the new after-work communication procedures.
The deadline
The policy will need to be in place by the 2nd of June in 2022 and the 1st of March each year.
How to write the policy
The government of Ontario had issued the following statement on the requirements of the policy: “The employer’s written policy must be on “disconnecting from work,” which is defined to mean not engaging in work-related communications, including emails, telephone calls, video calls or sending or reviewing other messages, to be free from the performance of work.
As the list of work-related communications is inclusive, and not exhaustive, other types of work-related communications could also fall under this definition. The employer must include the date the policy was prepared and the date any changes were made to the policy. Other than these requirements, the ESA does not specify the information the employer must include in the policy nor does it specify that the policy must be a particular length. The employer determines the content of the policy itself.”
Examples of what a “disconnecting from work” policy may address
- The employer’s expectations, if any, of employees to read or reply to work-related emails or answer work-related phone calls after their shift is over.
- The policy may set out employer expectations for different situations. For example, the policy may contain different expectations depending on:
- the time of day of the communication
- the subject matter of the communication
- who is contacting the employee (for example the client, supervisor, colleague)
- The employer’s requirements for employees turning on out-of-office notifications and/or changing their voicemail messages, when they are not scheduled to work, to communicate that they will not be responding until the next scheduled workday.
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Is the policy beneficial for employers?
Although the right to disconnect policy may seem favourable to employees, it is greatly beneficial to employers as well. A well-drafted right to disconnect policy will provide an equally beneficial situation for employers and employees. While employees get to be free after working hours, employers get the employees to finish the day’s work within office hours.
Employer record-keeping requirements
Employers must retain a copy of the written policy on disconnecting from work for three years after the policy is no longer in effect.
How to avoid misuse
Employers must implement an effective communication system and set the expected response time for each communication method. You need to ensure that employees finish the day’s work and update you if anything is left unfinished.
Quick facts
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- The right to disconnect law gives employees the right to unplug from work activity outside of regular work hours.
- The right to disconnect law is applicable for businesses in Ontario with employees of 25 people or more.
- These employers are required to mandatorily have a written Right to Disconnect Policy and share a copy of the policy among its staff.
- A well-drafted right to disconnect policy will provide a win-win for employers and employees.
- Ontario government has shared requirements on how the content of this policy should be.
- Experts at HR Covered have formulated a detailed version of the policy which you can download & edit.
- Employers must have a stringent communication system to prevent employees from misusing the policy.
- Deadline: 2nd June. 2022