Thank you for attending the Feb 27th Legal Obligations of the Landscape Employer seminar. The presenter has passed along some answers to questions some of you had, details included below.
Raymond K. MacKinnon
SHERRARD KUZZ LLP | Employment & Labour Lawyers
There were a few unanswered questions at the seminar that folks wanted to hear back from.
Casual Workers
The WSIB will generally require employers to pay premiums on the wages paid to casual workers. The only exception to this rule is if it can be proved that a worker was employed for reasons not related to the employer’s business activities. For example, if a shop owner casually employs a person to periodically wash their shop windows the shop keeper would not be required to pay premiums on the wages paid to that person. But in the case where a landscaper casually employs a person to engage in the business activities of a landscaper then the WSIB will view this person as a worker for which premiums would be needed to be paid. Premiums are paid on total payroll per reporting period. As long as a casual worker’s wages are included in this payroll the WSIB should be satisfied. You should seek legal advice with respect to whether a specific employee is captured by the above.
Vacation & Layoffs
The Employment Standards Act, 2000 provides for at least two weeks after each vacation entitlement year that the employee completes, if the employee’s period of employment is less than five years. An employee’s entitlement to vacation time accrues so long as the employment relationship continues. Therefore, the employee need not be actively employed (i.e., actually performing work) to earn the right to vacation time. Provided that the employee completes the vacation entitlement year (i.e., there is no break in the employment relationship during the vacation entitlement year), time spent on a statutory leave such as pregnancy or parental leave, family medical leave, organ donor leave, personal emergency leave, declared emergency leave, reservist leave, or an approved leave of absence, temporary lay-off, sick leave, etc. (all periods of inactive employment) must be credited to an employee in respect of their entitlement to vacation time. So, where a layoff becomes a termination of employment under the Act, the employment relationship ends and any accrued but unused vacation must be paid out. The employee will not have completed the vacation entitlement year and so is not entitled to vacation the next year. If the employee is rehired the next year, that is a new vacation year. Again, you may wish to seek legal advice with respect to whether a specific employee is captured by the above, or what your legal obligations are in respect of specific circumstances.
Thanks Kathy.
