28 Jul What mandatory steps does an employer need to follow during a notice period?
As an employer, it is not only adequate to know how much notice is required for your employee, there are also requisite steps within that period of notice that are mandatory in order to ensure the rights of the employee(s) are respected.
What are these requirements?
According to section 60(1) of the Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual, the employer must:
- not diminish the wage rate or conditions of the employment agreement that were previously followed,
- may not decrease wages that were held before the termination notice was given,
- continue the benefits that were promised by the employer to the employee in the employment contract.
What is important to note is that these rules are granted within the statutory period, which is the minimum amount of notice granted under the Employment Standards Act. The employer may still provide more notice to their employee, but these regulations only apply to the statutory period that the employee is legally entitled to.
The employee may still resign once the notice of termination is given to them, however, if they resign within the statutory period, the employer is no longer required to follow these regulations for this particular employee.
Why these terms?
The goal of this provision is to make sure that the terms laid out in the employment agreement will be maintained after the termination has been made known to the employee. Once the termination notice is given, this does not mean the employee deserves different compensation than before the termination was made aware to them. Even once the termination notice is given, the employee has a right to the same compensation, and alterations to the wage rate, conditions, wages, and benefits are legally prohibited. This is important because the intention of the notice period is to give the employee time to find new work and to be protected from any abrupt changes.
If you are an employer who has just given an employee a termination notice, please contact KCY at LAW for legal guidance throughout this process. Please contact KCY at LAW by filling in an online consultation request or contact us by phone at 905-639-0999 to book your consultation today.