February 18, 2025

Tullio Corradini

Trusted Legal Source

Electronic Monitoring: What Employers Need to Know about Developing a Written Policy

Electronic Monitoring: What Employers Need to Know about Developing a Written Policy

On July 13, 2022, the Federal government of Ontario published a chapter in its guidebook to the Employment Standards Act (“ESA”) on the lately legislated need for businesses to establish a prepared plan on digital monitoring. “Electronic monitoring” incorporates all sorts of worker checking that is done electronically. The goal of this new requirement is for employers to be transparent about whether they electronically watch employees by describing how and in what instances they keep an eye on and by stating the reasons for which the information received may be employed.

Below we have summarized the prerequisites and necessary contents of the electronic monitoring policy and have supplied important takeaways.

Software

Considering the fact that coming into power on April 11, 2022, employers who electronically keep track of its personnel and utilized 25 or additional staff in Ontario on January 1, 2022 ought to put into action a prepared electronic checking coverage by October 11, 2022. Beginning in 2023, businesses with 25 or far more workers on January 1 of any year will have to have a penned coverage in area just before March 1 of that year.

When determining how many personnel an employer has on January 1 of any calendar year, it have to consist of section-time and casual employees, not just full-time staff. The variety of personnel have to also incorporate personnel from all of the employer’s areas in Ontario. Assignment personnel of short-term assist organizations are workers of the agency, not of the agency’s consumers.

If, on January 1 of a specified 12 months, an employer does not fulfill the 25 worker threshold, this will be assumed for the remaining calendar 12 months, even if the staff rely will increase at a afterwards place that 12 months. This means that the ESA necessity for a written coverage on digital checking will not implement.

If, on January 1 of a presented yr, an employer employs 25 or much more personnel, then the ESA prerequisite will implement for the remaining calendar year, even if the staff depend decreases at a later on place that 12 months.

Contents

An employer’s prepared plan on digital checking of staff members is not required to be the identical for all of its staff, as prolonged as it features the pursuing information:

  1. A assertion as to irrespective of whether the employer engages in digital monitoring of employees.
  2. Where the employer does electronically keep an eye on workforce, the policy need to also incorporate the pursuing data:
    • A description of how the employer may possibly electronically watch staff.
    • A description of the situation in which the employer might electronically watch personnel.
    • The purposes for which info acquired by means of digital checking may possibly be made use of by the employer.
  3. The day the policy was organized and the day any variations ended up created to the plan.

An employer’s written plan have to be supplied to all employees inside 30 calendar days of the day the employer is demanded to have the policy in spot or the day the current policy is getting adjusted. Businesses might supply the coverage to workers as a printed copy as an attachment to an e mail if the staff can print a copy or as a connection to the document online if the personnel has a sensible possibility to entry the document and a printer.

Essential Takeaways

Though an employer’s prepared policy ought to have the needs for which it may use details obtained via electronic checking, the ESA does not limit the employer’s use of the info to the stated applications.

A criticism can only be created by an worker to the ministry, or be investigated by an work expectations officer, the place there is an alleged contravention of the employer’s obligation to present a duplicate of the written plan within the necessary timeframe to its staff. This ESA need does not establish a ideal for personnel not to be electronically monitored by their employer, nor does it make any new privacy legal rights for workers.

For 2022, companies engaged in digital checking and assembly the 25 employee threshold on January 1, 2022 ought to get started developing their policy before the October 11, 2022 deadline. Thereafter, on January 1 of any year, the written coverage will have to be applied by March 1 of that year. The policy have to comprise all of the needed information and facts famous previously mentioned and should be shipped to all staff members in the suitable structure and in the required timeframe. A duplicate of each individual penned coverage have to be retained for 3 decades immediately after the plan is no for a longer period in impact.


Quite a few many thanks to Eloise Somera for her aid with this site.