First of all, congratulations for your growth! I’m assuming that the employees affected by the schedule changes are NOT represented by a union. If they are, you’ll need to abide by the hours requirements of the collective agreement and negotiate any schedule changes with the union.
If the employees aren’t unionized, it’s a matter of complying with the Ontario Employment Standards Act and Regs (I’m assuming your company is NOT federally regulated). Under Sec 17 of the ESA, you can’t make or allow workers to work over 8 hours per day UNLESS you make a written or electronic agreement with employees establishing a regular work day of longer than 8 hours.
To do that, you must first give the affected employees the most recent information sheet for employees about hours of work and overtime pay from the Director of Employment Standards that describes the hours of work and overtime pay rules in the ESA. The agreement must also include a statement in which the employee acknowledges receipt of the information sheet. In most cases, an employee can cancel an agreement to work more hours by giving the employer two weeks’ notice in writing or electronically, while an employer can cancel the agreement by providing reasonable notice. Once the agreement is revoked, an employee may not work hours beyond the limit the agreement sets.
Hope that helps. Glenn
