As a general rule, employers cannot ban workers from travelling – such as those seen here on March 4, 2020 at Toronto Pearson Airport – to certain locations.Aaron Vincent Elkaim/The Globe and Mail
Canadian employers are implementing new policies around personal travel as the coronavirus outbreak stretches into March break season, with many warning employees who choose to travel to risky areas to stay away from work when they get home.
A wide range of Canadian businesses – including Maple Leaf Foods Inc., Intact Financial Corp., Wealthsimple Inc., health-benefits startup League Inc., and Vancity Credit Union – are requiring workers who travel to areas designated as high risk by leading health authorities to self-quarantine at home for two weeks upon their return and not to come in after that if they have any symptoms of the virus.
Statistics Canada says March is the busiest month, after December, for Canadians returning from international destinations, and with school spring breaks slated for the last week or two of the month, depending on the province, companies across the country are trying to limit employee exposure to the virus that causes the disease COVID-19.
Since the early days of the outbreak, employers have been restricting some international business travel and have tightened up those policies in recent weeks. For example, LinkedIn and OpenText have pulled out of external conferences or events. Now, some companies are also taking a closer look at personal travel.
On Friday, Royal Bank of Canada said it was investigating a “possible presumptive case” of COVID-19 at its Meadowvale office building in Mississauga. The investigation is focused on an RBC employee, who the bank has not identified.
“March break brings the issue of employee travel for personal reasons to the forefront,” said James Fu, a human-resources law partner at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in Toronto. “[Limiting] business travel is generally an employer’s prerogative, but personal travel is more of a grey area.”
As a general rule, employers cannot ban workers from travelling to certain locations, he said, but they do have a responsibility to take all reasonable measures to protect the health and safety of their work force. The context of the coronavirus outbreak means it is likely reasonable to tell employees not to come to work if they have travelled to affected areas or are exhibiting symptoms.
It is crucial to set expectations around return-to-work policies in advance so workers are not taken by surprise, Mr. Fu said. There’s a general principle to keep work and personal life separate, he said, and employers should not usually ask employees about travel plans. But the current situation makes it reasonable for businesses to ask their employees to disclose plans ahead of time and also to check in a few days before returning, in case the list of affected areas has shifted.
Working remotely is a possibility for many, and both employment and technology experts say companies should test their networks in advance to ensure they can handle any increased capacity and also make sure employees know how to log on from home.
“There are a lot of companies that are typically anti-remote work," said Nora Jenkins Townson, founder of Toronto human-resources consulting firm Bright and Early, who adds, "They’re having to be a little bit more flexible on it now, forcing them to test it out, which is interesting.”
Some companies even made working from home a blanket policy in response to the outbreak, for example the job-posting site, Indeed, which has offices in Toronto and Montreal.
But for employees who cannot work from home – including retail and service industry workers, labourers and cleaners – the calculus on making a call on international travel plans is trickier. Employers will not be responsible for flight or accommodation cancellation charges and would be within their rights to prevent workers from coming in if they have travelled to affected regions or have symptoms, Mr. Fu said.
Hena Singh, a partner with Singh Lamarche LLP, an employment law practice in Toronto, says employers can lessen the economic hit for workers by finding ways to use vacation time or accrued overtime to pay them for the two-week self-quarantine period. Employers could also offer to pay workers for 80 hours over the period and have them work extra shifts to earn back that time over the next six months, for example.
“There’s many creative ways to do this and the obligation is on employers to be creative. But they can also say, ‘We don’t want you to travel and there’s repercussions if you do,’" Ms. Singh said. She says that while employers can’t prevent personal travel, they can encourage workers not to travel to certain places and set out the consequences if they do.
It is possible that the government will extend sick-leave benefits under Employment Insurance or find other ways to help workers. Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau said Friday that support for Canadians quarantined as a result of the virus would be announced shortly.
With reports from Joe Castaldo, Josh O’Kane and Matt Lundy
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