Disconnecting from work policy

This term comes up when a buyer reviews an Ontario target’s employment paperwork. The Employment Standards Act, 2000 defines “disconnecting from work” as 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.

How the requirement works

Under s.21.1.2(1), an employer that, on January 1 of any year, employs at least the number of employees that subsection sets must have a written policy in place for all employees before March 1 of that year, subject to the transition rule in s.21.1.2(5). It must include the date the policy was prepared and the date of any changes, and s.21.1.2(4) adds any information prescribed by regulation. The Ontario government’s guide says employees at every Ontario location of the employer count toward the threshold, even if no single location reaches it.

What to check

• Whether the employer’s employee count on January 1 met the Act’s threshold.
• The policy’s preparation date and the dates of any changes.
• Evidence that each employee, and each new employee, received a copy within the time the Act sets.
• That copies are retained for the three years after a policy ceases to be in effect that s.15(8.1) of the Act requires.

Its sibling requirement is the electronic monitoring policy. Whether employment standards are the same in every province is covered in this answer. This entry covers Ontario only; check the rules where you are.