Paralegal services in employment law

Employment standards

We advise and represent clients on provincial employment standards, such as the Ontario Employment Standards Act, and appear before the appropriate boards and bodies. We help you draft policies and procedures that comply with the legislation, and we represent and advise you during employment standards audits and investigations.

• Hours of work
• Minimum wage
• Overtime
• Public holidays
• Vacation pay
• Leaves of absence, including pregnancy and parental leave
• Successor employer obligations
• Mass and group termination and layoffs
• Ending employment, including termination and severance pay
• Liability of directors and officers

Human rights

We advise on compliance with human rights legislation, help develop human rights policies, design and deliver training, and act for you before human rights adjudicators if a complaint is made. We encourage you to deal with human rights issues before they become complaints.

If a breach is alleged, we help you address it thoroughly and strategically, often by designing an effective complaint investigation process. If a matter goes to a hearing, we advocate for you before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

Occupational health and safety

We advise and represent employers on their obligations under provincial occupational health and safety legislation. We help set up joint health and safety committees and train their members, and help you develop policies and programs, conduct workplace audits and investigations, and enforce your rules.

We help employers respond to Ministry of Labour orders, including stop work orders, appeal orders made by Ministry of Labour inspectors, and defend charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Contracts, hiring and policies

We help employers prepare employment contracts at every level. A written contract sets out your obligations during the relationship and when it ends, and it is your most effective tool for limiting liability.

We help draft job descriptions and screen candidates, with advice on questions permitted or prohibited under human rights legislation, criminal record checks, reference checks and avoiding wrongful dismissal claims when you change a job description.

We design workplace policies that meet the legal requirements without overpromising, since a poorly drafted policy can become a liability. Policies we have developed include:

• Accessibility standards (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act)
• Workplace violence and harassment
• Employee handbooks
• Progressive discipline
• Attendance management
• Early and safe return to work
• Health and safety
• Social media in the workplace
• Information technology and computer use

Workplace investigations and mediation

A good investigation does more than meet a legal requirement: it uncovers problems, prevents them from happening again and prepares you for mediation or arbitration. We help you plan and carry out investigations, from assessing the complaint and refining your objective to deciding whether to involve an expert, suggesting an investigator where appropriate, and implementing the recommendations.

Most employment and labour processes include an opportunity, and sometimes an obligation, to mediate. A properly run mediation can reach an early, cost-effective resolution designed by the parties themselves.