Human Resources

One of the most important workforce distinctions that employers must make is between employees and independent contractors. Per the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000, generally speaking employees: Do not provide their own tools, materials or equipment to do their work. Are paid a fixed rate (e.g. salary) that is not […]

Employers could be Liable for Negative References   Nobody knows exactly when checking references became a staple crop on the human resource landscape. Perhaps a time machine would reveal that our prehistoric cave-dwelling ancestors did some background work to ensure that the Columbian Mammoth hunter they were recruiting ticked all […]

How a Bad Hire Can Trigger Constructive Dismissal   Organizations that hire a new employee who has a negative history with a current employee, may find themselves on the wrong end of a constructive dismissal lawsuit and forced to deal with lasting reputation damage. Just ask Thunder Bay-based Tbaytel.   […]

HR Advisor: Ontario MoL ” Reviewing Applications for Excess Hours and Overtime Averaging On the heels of Bill 148 that received Royal Assent in Ontario on November 27, 2017 — though most changes come into effect January 1, 2019 — the Ministry of Labour (MoL) has released The Changing Workplaces […]

FAQ: New Legislative Changes to Public Holiday Pay   ***Update*** Following consultations with business owners and other stakeholders, on May 7, 2018 the Government of Ontario announced that it has temporarily reinstated the pre-existing laws regarding public holiday pay. The Government also noted that it will conduct a review over […]

Whether they need to increase capacity in their retail or online store, help tax filers submit returns on time, ensure that landscape crews are properly staffed — and the list of examples goes on — businesses of all sizes rely on seasonal workers to increase capacity, meet customer expectations and […]

A joint health and safety committee (JHSC) is comprised of both worker and employer representatives, who work collaboratively to improve health and safety conditions across the work environment. Typical JHSC tasks include identifying health and safety issues (occuring, alleged and potential), inspecting the workplace, raising awareness of health and safety, […]

Employers: 3 Ways to Support Working Parents during Back-to-School Season While much of the world divides the calendar up into four seasons — each with its lofty poetic imagery — many working parents are somewhat more down-to-earth, and divide the year into two phases: “thankfully, it’s not back-to-school season,” and […]

In the last few years, many businesses — including high profile enterprises like Google — have said goodbye to conventional offices, and replaced them with what is known in office design circles as an “open office” layout. This is where walls and barriers are eliminated (or kept to a minimum), […]