On May 29, 2020 the Ontario government enacted a new regulation under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), Ontario Regulation 228/20 - Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (the “Regulation”). Under the Regulation, a nonunionized employee whose job is regulated by the ESA and whose employer has temporarily reduced or eliminated their hours of work because of COVID-19 are job-protected due to the Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (I.D.E.L.) for the “COVID-19 Period”.

The COVID-19 Period started on March 1, 2020 and will end six weeks after the declared emergency ends. The Regulation can be found here: O. Reg. 228/20.

The Regulation affects how the termination, severance and constructive dismissal rules under the ESA apply during the COVID-19 period.


Termination and severance

Normally (under the ESA) if an employee is laid off for a period longer than a temporary layoff, the employer is considered to have terminated the employee’s employment and they would generally be entitled to termination pay (and in certain cases, severance pay).

Under the new Regulation, an employee is not considered to be laid off if their employer temporarily reduces or eliminates their hours of work for COVID-related reasons. This means the layoff clock stops ticking towards becoming a termination of employment.

Constructive dismissal

Also, under the ESA, a constructive dismissal may occur when an employer makes a significant change to a fundamental term or condition of an employee's employment without the employee’s consent. The employee would have to resign in response to the change within a reasonable period of time in order for the employer's actions to be considered a termination of employment for purposes of the ESA.

Under the new Regulation, an employee is not considered to be constructively dismissed under the ESA if their employer temporarily reduces or eliminates their hours of work or wages for COVID-related reasons. The above information was taken from here.


Canada Life has posted a great article on this, attached to this solution.