Welcome to the NCHR e-newsletter - June, 2025 edition. Please enjoy!
Tips for Onboarding Employees who Work from Home
One of the most important (and often forgotten) strategic processes for any employer is onboarding new staff. A strong onboarding plan will help integrate a new employee into your company and culture and ensures that the information and tools required to become a productive member of the team are provided.
A thoughtful and enjoyable onboarding experience is a great first step towards a rewarding and potentially lengthy career. On the contrary, an employee left to fend for themselves during their first 90 days is more likely to start looking for a new job.
According to a recent Robert Half study, 12% of Canadian workers currently have fully remote work arrangements. The same study reveals 40% of job postings in Ontario in Q1 2025 are for fully remote (6%) and hybrid remote (34%) job opportunities.
Onboarding new staff who work from home presents new challenges for managers.
Here are a few things to consider when onboarding employees who work from home:
As new employees begin their career with your company, you'll never hear them complain about feeling too supported and/or welcomed.
NEW! Ontario ESA Long-Term Illness Leave is Now in Effect
Effective June 19, 2025, most Ontario employees with at least 13 weeks of service have access to a new job-protected long-term illness leave under the Employment Standards Act (ESA). Under this leave, employees with a ‘serious medical condition’ that is substantiated by a ‘qualified health practitioner’ will have up to 27 weeks of long-term illness leave in each 52-week period.
What makes this leave different than other long-term leaves is that it provides job-protected time off for employees to attend to their own illness, as opposed to other leaves that primarily focus on providing time off to support others.
Practically speaking, this leave will likely have little impact on most employers in Ontario because employees with medical conditions are already afforded protection under human rights legislation. This new leave appears to formalize what normally happens in most workplaces when an employee is unable to work for medical reasons.
It is important to note that employees who qualify for this long-term illness leave may also be eligible to receive up to 26 weeks of Employment Insurance Sick Benefits from the Federal Government.
Employers in Ontario should become familiar with this new long-term illness leave and contemplate its potential impact on existing company sick time, and short-term or long-term disability policies and procedures.
NCHR is here to help.
Contact us for more information: info@nchr.ca - 905-818-NCHR - http://www.nchr.ca
This e-newsletter from NCHR Consulting & Recruitment Services contains important information about HR related legislative updates and other best practice suggestions and lessons learned, to help you better manage your business and employee situations.
Please find other recent e-newsletters below:
03/27/2025 - Navigating Workplace Accommodation Requests
12/12/2024 - More Legislative Updates for Employers in Ontario
09/12/2024 - Recruitment Tips in Ontario's Tight Labour Market
06/13/2024 - NEED TO KNOW - More Legal Updates for Employers in Ontario
03/27/2024 - Employers Are Still Responsible for Health & Safety When Employees Work from Home
12/15/2023 - Ontario Job Postings Requirements are Likely to Change in 2024
09/21/2023 - Employers - Manage Carefully When Employees Request Time Off Work
06/21/2023 - Flexibility - A Highly Sought After (and Affordable) Employment Perk
03/22/2023 - Employee Onboarding - The Lost Art
Tips for Onboarding Employees who Work from Home
One of the most important (and often forgotten) strategic processes for any employer is onboarding new staff. A strong onboarding plan will help integrate a new employee into your company and culture and ensures that the information and tools required to become a productive member of the team are provided.
A thoughtful and enjoyable onboarding experience is a great first step towards a rewarding and potentially lengthy career. On the contrary, an employee left to fend for themselves during their first 90 days is more likely to start looking for a new job.
According to a recent Robert Half study, 12% of Canadian workers currently have fully remote work arrangements. The same study reveals 40% of job postings in Ontario in Q1 2025 are for fully remote (6%) and hybrid remote (34%) job opportunities.
Onboarding new staff who work from home presents new challenges for managers.
Here are a few things to consider when onboarding employees who work from home:
- Ensure a proper work from home arrangement is included with the offer letter process.
- Coordinate deliveries of technology, work-station furniture, supplies, etc., to your new hires’ home in advance so they are equipped on their first day of work.
- Connect your new employee with IT support, so they aren’t left to fend for themselves when it comes to your systems and applications, which they may not be familiar with.
- Host a virtual ‘get to know you’ session for your team to meet their new teammate. This should be a casual virtual meeting, perhaps over coffee or a snack.
- Require the new employee to spend (at least some) time during the probationary period in your physical office space for training and orientation purposes. This might require additional travel expenses borne by the company, but it’s worth it.
- Establishing performance expectations and providing ongoing coaching must still occur with remote employees. Schedule these (virtual) appointments in advance.
- Don’t forget that remote employees need mentors, too.
As new employees begin their career with your company, you'll never hear them complain about feeling too supported and/or welcomed.
NEW! Ontario ESA Long-Term Illness Leave is Now in Effect
Effective June 19, 2025, most Ontario employees with at least 13 weeks of service have access to a new job-protected long-term illness leave under the Employment Standards Act (ESA). Under this leave, employees with a ‘serious medical condition’ that is substantiated by a ‘qualified health practitioner’ will have up to 27 weeks of long-term illness leave in each 52-week period.
What makes this leave different than other long-term leaves is that it provides job-protected time off for employees to attend to their own illness, as opposed to other leaves that primarily focus on providing time off to support others.
Practically speaking, this leave will likely have little impact on most employers in Ontario because employees with medical conditions are already afforded protection under human rights legislation. This new leave appears to formalize what normally happens in most workplaces when an employee is unable to work for medical reasons.
It is important to note that employees who qualify for this long-term illness leave may also be eligible to receive up to 26 weeks of Employment Insurance Sick Benefits from the Federal Government.
Employers in Ontario should become familiar with this new long-term illness leave and contemplate its potential impact on existing company sick time, and short-term or long-term disability policies and procedures.
NCHR is here to help.
Contact us for more information: info@nchr.ca - 905-818-NCHR - http://www.nchr.ca
This e-newsletter from NCHR Consulting & Recruitment Services contains important information about HR related legislative updates and other best practice suggestions and lessons learned, to help you better manage your business and employee situations.
Please find other recent e-newsletters below:
03/27/2025 - Navigating Workplace Accommodation Requests
12/12/2024 - More Legislative Updates for Employers in Ontario
09/12/2024 - Recruitment Tips in Ontario's Tight Labour Market
06/13/2024 - NEED TO KNOW - More Legal Updates for Employers in Ontario
03/27/2024 - Employers Are Still Responsible for Health & Safety When Employees Work from Home
12/15/2023 - Ontario Job Postings Requirements are Likely to Change in 2024
09/21/2023 - Employers - Manage Carefully When Employees Request Time Off Work
06/21/2023 - Flexibility - A Highly Sought After (and Affordable) Employment Perk
03/22/2023 - Employee Onboarding - The Lost Art