What are Bill 27 and Bill 88 in Ontario?
Bill 27 and Bill 88 in Ontario are part of the Working for Workers Right Act, which came into effect in December 2021.
What is Bill 27?
Bill 27 requires employers to create a policy around the right to disconnect. The right to disconnect can be defined as the worker’s right not to engage in work-related activities in their leisure time, including:
- emails
- phone calls
- video calls
- text messages
These activities, along with any other activity that has to do with their job, would be prohibited after regular working hours.
Related: Cell Phones At Work Policies(With Examples)
Bill 27 states that any company that has more than 25 employees must create a policy around the right to disconnect. Organizations are now expected to provide each employee with a written copy of their right-to-disconnect policy and should make sure workers are sticking to the rules.
Bill 27 was started as a way to protect workers from employees who may require more working hours than what the law allows for, but without extra compensation. The issue was considered a workers’ rights violation, and employees can now refuse work after regular working hours.
What is Bill 88?
Bill 88, also part of the Working for Workers Act, was put into law on April 11, 2022. It enacts the Digital Platform Workers’ Right Act. This act discusses the right of workers to know if they are being electronically monitored by their employer.
The bill makes it illegal for employers to monitor their employees electronically without telling them beforehand. “Electronic monitoring” includes all forms of employee and assignment employee monitoring that is done electronically. Some examples include:
- email monitoring software
- video cameras and recording equipment for public areas
- internet and app activity monitoring, including downloaded documents and accessed websites, etc.
- keystroke trackers for keyboards
- recording equipment on all phones for external calls
- GPS monitoring in company vehicles which tracks geography, time, speed, etc.
- electronic sensors (for example, to track how quickly employees scan items at a check-out)
- biometric technology
- key card monitoring for access to the building or restricted areas
Bill 88 was constructed due to the numerous complaints from workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, where employees were finding out employers were monitoring their computers without their permission.
Requirements of Bill 27
The main requirement for employers around Bill 27 is that there needs to be a policy created around the right to disconnect. As stated above, the policy is required for any company that has 25 employees or more and must be given to each employee or within 30 days of a new employee starting.
The policy itself has to be about disconnecting from work and how the company defines that. For compliance with Bill 27, the policy has to define what disconnecting from work means and what type of communication would not be allowed.
For example, a policy could state that employees have the right not to respond to emails, texts or phone calls that are work-related during non-working hours. This may seem like a simple concept, but employees must know that they are not obligated to work on their time off and that the employer is not allowed to force them to.
Bill 27 also has a few rules about how the policy is actually documented. The policy needs to have the date that it was created as well as the date any changes were made. It also has to have a statement that says that the policy applies to all its employees in Ontario (and any other jurisdiction they wish to include).
Requirements of Bill 88
For Bill 88, employers also have to create a written policy, but here it has to be around electronic monitoring of employees. The policy for electronic monitoring of employees can simply be added to a current policy your company has or can stand independently.
Like with Bill 27, Bill 88 requires the electronic mentoring of employees policy to be issued to all employees within 30 days of a new employee starting. Similarly to Bill 27, the policy is only required for businesses with 25 or more employees and must have the date it was created and the date any changes were made printed on it.
In terms of the content, Bill 88 requires companies to clearly state if they will be electronically monitoring their employees or not. If you are electronically monitoring your employees, you must also describe how and in what circumstances you might monitor your employees. The policy also requires you to describe the purpose of the electronic monitoring and how the information obtained might be used.
For example, if a company is using electronic monitoring of their employees to see productivity levels while an employee is working from home, they might use this information to take disciplinary action if the employee is caught not working. Bill 88 requires employers to be fully transparent in their electronic monitoring of employees.
Benefits of Bill 27 and Bill 88
Though these bills are seemingly different, they both are a part of the new legislation, the Working for Worker’s Rights Act. This act has been created to give workers in today’s modern times more protection despite all the recent changes to how business is done. Both bills 27 and 88 were created in response to changes that came up during the pandemic as offices closed and remote work became the norm.
Bill 27 was created due to people finding it difficult to balance work and home life while working from home. The expectations of some employers were that employees should be reachable 24/7 since there was no longer a separation of work time and home time.
Bill 88 was created due to the upsurge of employers monitoring their employees without their knowledge during the pandemic. Some employers were not trusting their employees to work when they said they would, so electronic monitoring of employees became a problem.
The legislation hopes that with the introduction of these bills, both of these issues will disappear, and employees will feel at ease when at work. It should be noted that Bill 27 and Bill 88 are beneficial for both employees and employers.
Here are a few of the benefits of these new workers’ rights that can be beneficial for your company:
Employee Retention
Having a good work-life balance is important to employees. With the right-to-disconnect policy, employees are able to have a better balance giving them a sense of happiness. When workers are happy, they are more likely to stay working for your company, which means you can retain good talent.
Feeling trusted is also something employees seek, which is why being transparent can be so important. If you are transparent with your employees, you can have a better relationship and can rely on them to stick around for a long time.
High Productivity
When employees are happy, they tend to work harder. By providing a good life-work balance, you create an environment where employees feel job satisfaction and productivity levels end up being high. This is also seen when workers are given some autonomy. Monitoring employees can often be seen as keeping tabs on them. If you only monitor certain situations, which they are made aware of, they will feel more independent and will be better able to concentrate on work.
Good Reputation
Businesses that have clear policies and procedures usually have good reputations. People like knowing the expectations of the company, and when your policies are clear, employees feel confident that they will be respected. Both Bill 27 and Bill 88 really have to do with respecting your employees. When you are able to show this respect by providing clearly defined policies, employees will be happy, and your company will be known as a good company to work for.
By simply following the requirements of Bill 27 and Bill 88, you can create a positive work environment where employees feel respected and, in return, be able to get the best from your workers.
