British Colombia

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As we wrap up 2025 and look forward to 2026, here are 10 key developments Canadian employers should track:

1. Termination Clause Update

In Ontario, there continues to be judicial scrutiny of employment contract termination clauses, particularly the use of the phrase “at any time”.

The Dufault case maintains precedential value. Please see our post here for more discussion on the case here and for more discussion on the issues with the use of the phrase “at any time”.

However, the recently decided Ontario Superior Court decision, Li v. Wayfair Canada Inc., upheld a termination clause that limited the employee’s entitlements to Employment Standards Act, 2000 minimums. The termination provision in question included “at any time” language which the court determined does not automatically render a termination provision non-compliant with the ESA as long as the provision is compliant when read as a whole.

In Bertsch v. Datastealth Inc. the Court of Appeal provided support for employers when it upheld a trial level decision which indicates that termination provisions can be enforced if they are clear and unambiguous, compliant with employment standards law and exclude common law entitlements.

2. Regulation of Gig Workers

With the introduction of the Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, Ontario joined British Columbia by introducing legislation regulating the gig economy. The Act provides several entitlements to employees in the gig economy including a right to minimum wage, amounts earned, and a recurring pay period and pay day. Beyond those entitlements, the Act also provides a right to information.

For more information about the requirements, please see our post here.Continue Reading Top 10 Canadian Labour & Employment Law Developments of 2025

  • The progress and implications of Ontario’s latest “Working for Workers” legislation
  • Implications of Pay Transparency Legislation in British Columbia and
…

Special thanks to our articling student Madison Bruno for contributing to this update.

On November 14, the Ontario Government introduced Bill 149, Working for Workers Four Act, 2023. If passed as expected, Bill 149 would significantly change several employment statutes, building on the Working for Workers Acts, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Key changes include: new requirements for Ontario employers to disclose pay information in job postings; a new obligation to disclose whether artificial intelligence was used during the hiring process; and it would prohibit using Canadian work experience as a job requirement.Continue Reading Ontario Poised to Pass Major Changes to Job Posting Requirements

Special thanks to our articling student Ravneet Minhas for contributing to this update.

In a previous post, we discussed the legislative trend for greater pay transparency across Canada, including in British Columbia with the recent adoption of the Pay Transparency Act.

The British Columbia government has since released guidance on the application of the Act. This clarifies the requirement to include salary or wage information in all publicly advertised job postings, effective November 1, 2023.

Required Wage and Salary Information in Job Postings

To comply with the Act, employers (and third parties posting on behalf of an employer) must include the expected wage or salary or expected wage or salary range in job postings. For example:

  • $20 per hour; or
  • $40,000 to $60,000 per year.

The wage or salary range cannot be unspecified or open-ended. For example, stating that a job pays “$20-$30 per hour” would comply with the Act, while “$20 per hour and up” would not.

The Province leaves it to the employer’s discretion to decide how extensive the advertised wage or salary range may be. Further, employers are not required to include bonus pay, overtime pay, tips, or benefits in their job postings. The above requirements do not prevent an applicant from requesting a higher wage or salary than the amount advertised. Similarly, employers are free to offer an applicant a higher wage or salary than the one included in the job posting.Continue Reading Update: New Guidance Details Requirements Under the British Columbia Pay Transparency Act

On May 20, 2021, the government of British Columbia passed Bill 13, Employment Standards Amendment Act (No. 2), 2021, which amends the Employment Standards Act, 1996 to provide employees with three days of paid sick leave for reasons related to COVID-19, as well as a permanent paid sick leave for any illness or injury.…