What is Ontario’s Right to Disconnect and How to Stay Compliant

Since much of the office working world has had to go remote for at least some time over the last two years, separating work and personal life has become increasingly difficult. Video conferencing, VPNs, and phone software are commonplace, and our work email is just a few steps away instead of having the regular commute to separate ourselves physically.

While all this technology is excellent, it keeps us constantly connected to work, which isn’t feasible long-term. Surveys have shown that those working remotely are burnt out. With this in mind, Ontario has passed the Working for Workers Act, 2021, S.O, 2021, c. 35 – Bill 27, which requires most employers to outline a “right to disconnect” for employees.

But what does this mean for employers who want to keep their networks secure, employees connected, and ensure employees’ computers are protected against cyber threats and other attacks?

That’s where our team at ManagePoint Technologies comes in. We’ve got experience with all types of information technology needs, rules, and regulations, and we’re constantly evolving.

But dive in and learn more about this new law and its implications.

What is the ‘Right To Disconnect’?

This new law was officially ratified under the ‘Working for Workers Act.’ The bill began as a proposal to prohibit non-compete agreements, requiring recruiters and temp agencies to be registered and protect immigrants throughout the job search. It also includes the ‘Right To Disconnect,’ which requires businesses with 25 or more employees in Ontario to have a written policy outlining their employees’ rights regarding disconnecting from their jobs at the end of the day.

According to the government, these workplace standards might include email response time expectations and encouraging employees to use out-of-office alerts when they aren’t working.

An employer must comply with the statute between January 1 and March 1 of each year.

The government stated it wants to level the tables by putting employees in charge of Ontario’s economic growth while luring the best workers to the province. The Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development Monte McNaughton further stated that this piece of legislation was enacted to respond to the increasingly blurred barriers between work and home and ensure that every worker in Ontario understands that familial time comes first.

What is the ‘Right To Disconnect’?

This new law was officially ratified under the ‘Working for Workers Act.’ The bill began as a proposal to prohibit non-compete agreements, requiring recruiters and temp agencies to be registered and protect immigrants throughout the job search. It also includes the ‘Right To Disconnect,’ which requires businesses with 25 or more employees in Ontario to have a written policy outlining their employees’ rights regarding disconnecting from their jobs at the end of the day.

According to the government, these workplace standards might include email response time expectations and encouraging employees to use out-of-office alerts when they aren’t working.

An employer must comply with the statute between January 1 and March 1 of each year.

The government stated it wants to level the tables by putting employees in charge of Ontario’s economic growth while luring the best workers to the province. The Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development Monte McNaughton further stated that this piece of legislation was enacted to respond to the increasingly blurred barriers between work and home and ensure that every worker in Ontario understands that familial time comes first.

How Do Employers Comply With This Act, While Staying Connected?

Whether you’re monitoring network data to gauge employee activity, ensuring they sign into a VPN for tapping into office software, protecting the network from cyber attacks, or a combination of all these technologies, employers can adapt to this new law, especially by working with their teams to ensure transparency and complete training.

It’s essential to include your staff in consultations about any updates that have to be done to the network to ensure they’ll stay connected and have their computers monitored with antivirus and anti-malware technology. If you require remote employees to log on to the network for work and log off at a particular time, that is another consideration.

These ‘right to disconnect’ policies should also align with similar in-house rules that have to do with employee privacy and data. If your company uses productivity software, it also needs to align with this new law. Anything new should be discussed with management as well.

Our IT Care Server and IT Care Network solutions help you take care of your environment so that your critical systems stay up and running while your employees stay connected when they need to be.

We keep a careful eye on your systems and give you online monitoring. We provide first-class antivirus, sophisticated protection, and ransomware protection for each computer on the network. Routine backups, error reporting, and patching are all covered by our plans, which are all monitored and tracked.

To keep your company safe online, we incorporate security practices into all of our solutions. We take the time to learn about your business and tailor solutions to match your needs.

For all your IT solutions, including tech support, cybersecurity, network maintenance and more, the ManagePoint Technologies team will provide you with everything you need. We’re here to create solutions that are not only compliant with the law but work for you, your business, and your employees as well. Visit our website, call us at (877)262-3620 or shoot an email to [email protected] for more information.