In June of 2024, the federal government’s Bill C-69: An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 16, 2024 (the “Bill C-69”) received royal assent (in other words received Parliament’s formal approval) as seen here. Of particular interest, Bill C-69 makes changes to the Canada Labour Code (the “Code”) which requires federally regulated employers to establish a “right to disconnect policy” to help limit work-related communication outside of scheduled working hours. Federally regulated employers affected by this legislation include banking, aviation, telecommunications, and postal and courier services, amongst others. British Columbia does not currently have legislation that mandates a “right to disconnect” for provincially regulated employers. At this time, Ontario is the only province that has legislated such a right.

A right to disconnect policy must include elements such as,

a) a general rule respecting work-related communication outside of scheduled hours of work, including the employer’s expectation and any opportunity for employees to disconnect from means of communication;

b) any exceptions to the rule and their underlying rationale;

c) the effective date of the policy; and,

d) any other elements that may be prescribed by regulation.

Bill C-69 is intended to ensure federally regulated employers’ expectations are clear, employee work-life balance is better protected, and employees are compensated fairly for engaging in work-related communication outside of their scheduled hours of work. These employers are required to review and update their “right to disconnect policy” every three years and consult with employees when developing or updating the policy amongst other obligations.

As the federal government’s website shows here, a right to disconnect policy is meant to reduce the informal expectation that employees must remain constantly connected to their employer, while also offering employers the flexibility to ensure they can meet their economic needs. The Canada Labour Standards Regulations currently has not been amended to show how this right will be implemented and enforced, and if there are any penalties for non-compliance. Information, tools and resources about the implementation of Bill C-69 and changes to the Code will be made available to the public later this year.

If you have questions about Bill C-69 or other workplace law issues, please contact Tiffany Lee at [email protected].