Ontario could be first province in Canada to mandate "disconnecting from work" policies

Ontario has proposed a bill that aims to improve the lives of workers in the province by creating better work-life balance through workplace policies.

The bill proposes that companies with more than 25 employees create policies to help employees disconnect from work so that staff can get more out of their time off.

Ontario will be the first province in Canada to mandate “disconnecting from work” policies if the bill passes.

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According to a press release, this could mean introducing practices that establish expectations about email response times or asking employees to turn on their out-of-office notifications when not at work.

The bill hopes to improve employees’ work-life balance, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic when many Ontarians took work home with them.

The proposed bill would also ban employers from using non-compete agreements. These agreements can prevent employees from being able to work after leaving a company. If passed, Ontario will also be the first province in Canada to ban non-compete agreements.