Adapting to Canada’s New Employment Standards

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Shir Fulga: Hi, everyone. Welcome to our Ogletree Deakins Canada podcast series.

Erin Schachter: In this series, we will guide you through the latest developments in Canadian employment and privacy law, breaking down complex legal topics into accessible, practical, and easy to understand conversations.

Shir Fulga: My name is Shir Fulga. I’m a lawyer in our Toronto office.

Erin Schachter: And I’m Erin Schachter in our Montréal office. We will be your hosts, so settle in and let’s get started. Welcome, everyone. Today we’re joined by Susan Ivimey, an associate at Ogletree Deakins in our Toronto office, to discuss the new employment standard changes that came into effect across Canada on January 1st, 2026. Susan, thank you for being here.

Susan Ivimey: Well, thank you for having me. It’s my absolute pleasure to be here and talk about these important updates from across the country.

Erin Schachter: Great. So, I think what we’ll do is we’ll jump in right away. So, my first question for you is, what are the biggest changes employers need to have on their radar for 2026?

Susan Ivimey: That’s a great question. And I would say there are two main areas for employers to pay attention to. And they’re coming from several provinces out west, from Alberta and Saskatchewan and Manitoba, where there has been increases to the maximum limit of long-term illness leaves, up to 27 weeks.

Also, in Saskatchewan, they’ve introduced new rules that prohibit employers from deducting or withholding tips from employees, which brings that province more in line with regulations that have been enacted in other provinces across the country.

Shir Fulga: Awesome. Yeah. And those who are paying attention or who have listened to our other episodes, we have a whole episode about the new changes, the new sweeping changes in Ontario. So, this is just in line with all of the provinces making an effort to come in line with each other when it comes to these important updates to long-term leave and other variable compensation aspects under the various employment standards legislation.

So, let’s unpack some of these, Susan. You mentioned long-term illness and an extension to those provisions. So, can you walk us through what that looks like?

Susan Ivimey: Yeah, of course. So, as I was saying, eligible employees in the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan can now take up to 27 weeks of job-protected long-term illness or injury leave. And that brings these provinces in line not only with standards that existed in Ontario, but also, it’s a pretty significant boost for employee protections in those provinces.

Erin Schachter: Interesting. Okay. So, some big changes and some alignment with things that we see in other provinces. Are there any other leave-related changes on the books?

Susan Ivimey: There are. So, Saskatchewan has made quite a few changes that went into force at the beginning of 2026. In addition to the long-term illness and injury leave, employees who’ve been working for the same employer for at least 13 weeks now also have access to several additional types of job-protected leave.

And these are compassionate additions that recognize people need some time, they need some support during what can be probably some of life’s harder moments. So specifically, employees who have at least 13 weeks with the same employer can now take up to 19 weeks of maternity leave, and that includes if they’ve experienced a pregnancy loss, and up to 16 weeks of leave for people who are experiencing interpersonal violence.

So, as I said, these are compassionate additions. They address some areas that likely needed to be addressed and will be quite appreciated by the employees who are able to take advantage of them.

Shir Fulga: This really does bring Saskatchewan in line with a bunch of other provinces who have already implemented interpersonal or domestic violence leaves several years ago, and it sounds like an addition of a couple of weeks to an already existing mat leave. So, that’s nice.
It does sound like Saskatchewan has been making moves. Is there anything else new there?

Susan Ivimey: There is. So, employers in Saskatchewan can now substitute another holiday for a public holiday if the employee is working on that public holiday and the employee agrees to move. The exception to that rule is Remembrance Day, but if there’s any other public holiday that the employee is working and they’d like to sub out a different day as their “public holiday,” they’re now able to do so under the new legislation.

Now, the important thing to note is that the substituted day has to take place within four weeks of the original public holiday. So, they’ve got about a month to play with, and it does give employees a nice bit of flexibility, and employers as well, when it comes to scheduling around those public holidays.

Shir Fulga: Yeah. And I can definitely say this is something that our employers are taking advantage of in other provinces, specifically Ontario. So, it’s nice to see that that is some flexibility that is being provided in Saskatchewan as well.

Let’s shift gears because I also understand from your article, your blog post, Susan, that there’s some changes to the tip collection rules. So, what’s the story there?

Susan Ivimey: Yeah, this is a big one. It’s a big one for anyone who works in the hospitality industry and of course any employers who operate within that area as well. So a change from last year, a change from the years leading up to 2026, is that employers in Saskatchewan now are prohibited, they’re not allowed to withhold or to deduct tips from their employees’ earnings. So, employers can still, they can still establish tip pooling that collects the tips and then distributes them amongst employees, but the employer themselves cannot share in that pooling arrangement.

Erin Schachter: No, that’s very interesting. What would be consequences that would be in place if the employer would not follow these new rules? I mean, we’ve named quite a few things, but this tip one in particular is very interesting.

Susan Ivimey: Yeah, that’s a great question. And I do want to point out to employers that there is real teeth behind this piece of legislation. It’s not just a suggestion. Any employee who feels that their tips have been wrongfully withheld can file a complaint with the Director of Employment Standards, and then that director has the authority to order employers to repay any tips that are owing.

Shir Fulga: So, I guess for employers who are listening today, what can we suggest that our clients or employers just generally do right now?

Susan Ivimey: Yeah, another great question. So, I think for employers who are listening today, they’re already taking that most important first step, which is making themselves aware of these changes. When employers know what’s changed, then they’re able to sit down and take a good, hard look, a nice, real, tight read through of their policies and their procedures, and make sure that they’re in compliance with these new rules, specifically for companies that are operating in multiple provinces, and we’ve talked a lot about Saskatchewan today, so particularly for employers who have employees in that province. This means tailoring your policies to meet these new specific requirements.

Erin Schachter: Thank you, Susan, so much for your time today. It’s been really informative and it’s great to keep up to date on all of these interesting changes happening across Canada, so thank you.

Susan Ivimey: Well, thank you. This has been a lot of fun. It’s been nice being here with you both.

Shir Fulga: Thanks, Susan, and thanks everyone for listening.

Announcer: Thank you for joining us on the Ogletree Deakins podcast. You can subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts or through your favorite podcast service. Please consider rating and reviewing so that we may continue to provide the content that covers your needs. And remember, the information in this podcast is for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as legal advice.