Ontario’s Infectious Disease Emergency Leave (IDEL) is expected to end on Saturday, July 30.
The special job-protected leave was activated on March 19, 2020, as part of the provincial government’s response to the sudden onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
IDEL enabled workers to take time off for pandemic-related reasons. It also seemed to allow companies to cut an employee’s pay and hours, or temporarily lay them off.
Over the course of pandemic, my employment law team has fielded countless questions from workers in Ontario about the temporary layoff regulation and what it means for them.
Here are seven things employees need to know about IDEL.
1. You can treat a temporary layoff as a termination
IDEL does not allow an employer to automatically make major changes to an employee’s job, including putting them on a temporary layoff. Under common law, it is illegal for a company to alter someone’s pay or hours of work without their permission, or unless otherwise permitted by an employment contract.
If your boss does put you on a temporary layoff, even for reasons related to the pandemic, you can likely consider this to be a termination. The team at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP will pursue a full severance package for you through a constructive dismissal claim.
READ MORE: What does Ontario’s IDEL extension mean for employees? An employment lawyer explains
IDEL merely protects employers from constructive dismissal claims filed through the province’s Ministry of Labour, which can only guarantee an employee’s minimum severance entitlements under the Ontario Employment Standards Act (often only a few weeks’ pay).
2. IDEL has been extended many times
July 30 is not the original expiry date for Ontario’s pandemic-related leave. IDEL was initially set to run out on September 4, 2020. Since then, it has been extended five times.
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With COVID-19 restrictions being lifted and vaccine mandates coming to an end in the province, it is likely that IDEL will not be extended past July 30.
READ MORE: HBC employee’s ‘status change’ a lesson in constructive dismissals: employment lawyer
3. Severance is owed if you are fired when IDEL ends
If your employer fails to reinstate you or fires you after IDEL ends, you are entitled to a full severance package. Severance can be as much as 24 months’ pay in Ontario and is calculated based on several factors, including your age, time with the company and the position you held.
If your employer does not provide proper severance, you have been wrongfully dismissed and should contact an employment lawyer immediately.
READ MORE: How does a wrongful dismissal work in Ontario?
If you have an employment contract, it may contain a termination clause that tries to limit the amount of severance you should receive to the bare minimum. Many of those clauses are actually unenforceable, which means that you still have the right to fair compensation.
To find out how much you are owed, use the online Pocket Employment Lawyer tool. My firm developed this free resource to help Canadians get a better understanding of their workplace rights, including the amount of severance they should get when they lose their job.
4. You are likely owed compensation after a working notice period
Your employer may decide to bring you back to work after IDEL ends, but with a fixed date in the future for your termination.
This is called working notice, and it counts toward your overall severance package. For example, if you are entitled to six months of severance, the company can decide to give you a termination date six months in advance.
It’s rare, however, for employers to offer extended working notice periods, and many employees are unaware that they are often owed additional severance after they have completed the working notice period.
READ MORE: Given an employment contract? Review these key clauses, employment lawyer says
5. Your employer cannot change your job or pay when you return
Your employer must return you to the same position, duties and pay you had before being placed on IDEL. They cannot make significant changes to the terms of your employment, even if they claim the modifications are due to economic factors beyond the company’s control.
If changes are made despite your opposition, you can claim constructive dismissal.
6. IDEL does not affect your seniority
Any time spent on IDEL still counts toward the overall time you’ve spent working for your company.
READ MORE: What you’re getting wrong about terminations, according to an employment lawyer
7. Make sure to speak with an employment lawyer
If you are still on a temporary layoff, because of IDEL or an unrelated reason, or if your employer has proposed changes to your employment, you should contact an employment lawyer immediately, like the ones at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.
Speak to a lawyer before agreeing to a layoff, signing any documents provided by your employer or telling the company that you have been constructively dismissed. We can help preserve your rights.
Were you put on a temporary layoff in Ontario because of the COVID-19 pandemic? Did your employer fail to call you back to work or provide a severance package?
Contact the firm or call 1-855-821-5900 to secure assistance from an employment lawyer in Ontario, Alberta or British Columbia. Get the advice you need — and the compensation you deserve.
Lior Samfiru is an employment lawyer and co-founding partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, Canada’s most positively reviewed law firm specializing in employment law and long-term disability claims. He provides free advice as the host of Canada’s only Employment Law Show on TV and radio.