Notice of termination
57.(1) No employer shall terminate the employment of an employee who has been employed for three months or more unless the employer gives, (a) one weeks notice in writing to the employee if his or her period of employment is less than one year; (b) two weeks notice in writing to the employee if his or her period of employment is one year or more but less than three years; (c) three weeks notice in writing to the employee if his or her period of employment is three years or more but less than four years; (d) four weeks notice in writing to the employee if his or her period of employment is four years or more but less than five years; (e) five weeks notice in writing to the employee if his or her period of employment is five years or more but less than six years; (f) six weeks notice in writing to the employee if his or her period of employment is six years or more but less than seven years; (g) seven weeks notice in writing to the employee if his or her period of employment is seven years or more but less than eight years; (h) eight weeks notice in writing to the employee if his or her period of employment is eight years or more, and such notice has expired. R.S.O. 1990, c. E.14, s. 57 (1); 1993, c. 27, Sched. Idem (2) Despite subsection (1), the notice required by an employer to terminate the employment of fifty or more employees in any period of four weeks or less shall be given in the manner and for the period prescribed in the regulations, and until the expiry of such notice the termination shall not take effect. R.S.O. 1990, c. E.14, s. 57 (2). Termination when bankruptcy, etc. (2.1) An employer shall be deemed to have terminated the employment of an employee if the employment is terminated by operation of law, (a) as a result of the bankruptcy of the employer, whether or not it is the employer who initiates bankruptcy proceedings; (b) as a result of the insolvency of the employer; or (c) as a result of any operations of the employer being placed in receivership. 1995, c. 1, s. 74 (1). Information to be given (3) Where so prescribed, an employer who is required to give notice by subsection (2), (a) shall provide to the Minister, in the prescribed form, such information as may be prescribed; and (b) shall, on the first day of the statutory notice period, post in the employer’s establishment, in the prescribed form, such information as may be prescribed. Posting (4) The employer shall post the information required by clause (3) (b) in one or more conspicuous places in the employer’s establishment where it is most likely to come to the attention of the affected employees and the employer shall keep the information posted throughout the statutory notice period. Idem (5) The information required under subsection (3) may include, (a) the economic circumstances surrounding the intended terminations; (b) any consultations which have been or are proposed to take place with local communities or with the affected employees or their agent in connection with the terminations; (c) proposed adjustment measures and the number of employees expected to benefit from each; and (d) a statistical profile of the affected employees. When notice is effective (6) Despite subsection (2), the notice required under subsection (2) shall be deemed not to have been given until the date the completed form required under clause (3) (a) is received by the Minister. Memorandum of date form received (7) The Minister shall cause every form received in his or her office under clause (3) (a) to be endorsed with a memorandum of the date of its receipt. Notice to employer (8) Where the completed form required under clause (3) (a) has been received, the Minister shall cause a notice to that effect to be sent to the employer within two business days of such receipt. Statement by Minister as to time (9) A copy of the memorandum referred to in subsection (7) purporting to be certified by the Minister is, without proof of the signature of the Minister, evidence of the date the form was received. R.S.O. 1990, c. E.14, s. 57 (3-9). Exceptions (10) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to, (a) an employee employed for a definite term or task; (b) an employee who is temporarily laid off, as defined in the regulations; (c) an employee who has been guilty of wilful misconduct or disobedience or wilful neglect of duty that has not been condoned by the employer; (d) a contract of employment that is or has become impossible of performance or is frustrated by a fortuitous or unforeseeable event or circumstance; or (e) an employee employed in an activity, business, work, trade, occupation or profession, or any part thereof, that is exempted by the regulations. R.S.O. 1990, c. E.14, s. 57 (10); 1993, c. 27, Sched. Application of subss. (1), (2) (11) Despite clause (10) (d), subsections (1) and (2) apply to an employee whose contract of employment is or has become impossible of performance or frustrated by an order, direction or notice made, given or issued against an employer under the Environmental Protection Act. R.S.O. 1990, c. E.14, s. 57 (11). Duty of employer (12) An employer who has terminated or who proposes to terminate the employment of employees shall, when required by the Minister for the purpose of facilitating the re-establishment of the employees in employment, (a) participate in such actions or measures as the Minister may direct; (b) participate in the establishment and work of a committee upon such terms as the Minister considers necessary; and (c) contribute to the reasonable cost or expense of any committee referred to in clause (b) in such amount or proportion as the Minister directs. 1995, c. 1, s. 74 (2). Exception (12.1) Subsection (12) does not apply to an employer whose employees are deemed to have been terminated under subsection (2.1). 1995, c. 1, s. 74 (3). Rate of wages, etc., not to be altered (13) Where the notice referred to in subsection (1) or (2) has been given, (a) no employer shall alter the rates of wages or any other term or condition of employment of any employee to whom notice has been given; (b) an employer shall pay during the period of notice, (i) the wages the employee is entitled to receive, which in no case shall be less than his or her regular wages for a regular non-overtime work week, and (ii) those contributions to be made with respect to a fund, plan or arrangement to which Part X applies in order to maintain the benefits to which the employee is entitled; and (c) upon the expiry of the notice, the employer shall pay to the employee any wages or vacation pay to which the employee is entitled. Payments where employment terminated without notice (14) Where the employment of an employee is terminated contrary to this section, (a) the employer shall pay termination pay in an amount equal to the wages that the employee would have been entitled to receive at his or her regular rate for a regular non-overtime work week for the period of notice prescribed by subsection (1) or (2), and any wages to which the employee is entitled; (b) the employer shall pay during the period of notice prescribed by subsection (1) or (2) those contributions to be made with respect to a fund, plan or arrangement to which Part X applies in order to maintain the benefits to which the employee is entitled during the period of notice; and (c) the employee shall be deemed during the period of notice prescribed by subsection (1) or (2) to be actively employed on the same terms and conditions in existence during his or her employment for the purpose of entitlement to benefits under a plan, fund or arrangement to which Part X applies. R.S.O. 1990, c. E.14, s. 57 (13, 14). Notice by employee (15) An employee to whom notice has been given under subsection (2) shall not terminate his or her employment until after the expiry of, (a) one weeks notice in writing to the employer if the period of employment is less than two years; or (b) two weeks notice in writing to the employer if the period of employment is two years or more, unless the employer has been guilty of a breach of the terms and conditions of employment. R.S.O. 1990, c. E.14, s. 57 (15); 1993, c. 27, Sched. Employer’s contributions deemed wages (16) Despite clause (d) of the definition of “wages” in section 1, the contributions to be made under subsection (13) or (14) with respect to a fund, plan or arrangement to which Part X applies shall, for the purposes of Part XV, be deemed to be wages to which an employee is entitled. Entitlement to termination pay (17) If an employee is temporarily laid off, as defined in the regulations, and the lay-off equals or exceeds thirty-five weeks in any period of fifty-two consecutive weeks, the employee shall be deemed no longer to be temporarily laid off and, if the employee has not been given notice of termination in accordance with this section, the employee is entitled to termination pay. Application by trade union (18) Where an employee who may be entitled to termination pay under subsection (17) is represented by a trade union, the trade union may apply to the Director in writing to extend the periods specified in subsection (17) and, if the application is approved by the Director, subsection (17) shall be read as if such longer periods were specified. Election by employee (19) An employee who is entitled to termination pay under subsection (17) and who has a right to be recalled for employment under the terms and conditions of employment may elect to be paid the termination pay forthwith or may elect to retain the right to be recalled. Idem (20) Where an employee elects under subsection (19) to be paid the termination pay forthwith, the employee shall be deemed to have abandoned the right to be recalled. Where no election made (21) Where an employee entitled to make an election under subsection (19) elects to maintain the right to be recalled or fails to make an election, the employer shall pay the termination pay to the Director in trust to be paid by the Director, (a) to the employer, where the employee accepts employment made available under the right of recall and in such case the employee shall be deemed to have abandoned the right to termination pay; or (b) to the employee in any case other than a case mentioned in clause (a) including the case where the employee renounces the right to be recalled and, upon payment, the employee shall be deemed to have abandoned the right to be recalled. R.S.O. 1990, c. E.14, s. 57 (16-21). No offence (22) An employer does not commit an offence under subsection 78 (1) when his, her or its employees are deemed to have been terminated under subsection (2.1) and the employer does not comply with subsection (14). Same (23) An officer, director or agent of a corporation or a person purporting to act in any such capacity does not commit an offence under subsection 79 (1) when the corporation is an employer whose employees are deemed to have been terminated under subsection (2.1) and the corporation does not comply with subsection (14). 1995, c. 1, s. 74 (4).