First published on Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Last updated on Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Welcome to HR Heartbeat, where we take a look at the week’s most pressing HR and employment law stories. With over a decade of experience working within the HR and employment law industry, I give my opinion on current trends impacting your business, as well as my own personal commentary on all things HR and legal.
When is it too hot to work?
In all jurisdictions, there’s no magic number that says, “It’s officially too hot to work.” But that doesn’t mean employers can ignore extreme heat.
With the recent heatwave, it’s crucial to know under health & safety legislation you’re responsible for protecting your employee’s wellbeing, including addressing heat stress. And with Canada seeing more heatwaves and record-breaking temperatures each summer, it’s important to prepare.
Here are a few tips for heat protection in the workplace:
Schedule physically demanding tasks for cooler hours
Give workers access to shaded or air-conditioned rest areas
Ensure cold drinking water is always available
Offer more frequent and longer breaks
Train staff on heat exhaustion warning signs
Have a plan in place for heat-related emergencies
It’s also crucial to know employees can refuse work if conditions are unsafe due to heat as long as they follow the proper reporting process. So, if you haven’t updated your workplace heat safety protocols recently, you may benefit from some expert employment relations advice. Because when temperatures rise, so do your legal responsibilities.
More workplace updates are coming to Ontario
Starting January 1, 2026, if you’re an employer in Ontario with 25 or more staff, you’ll need to follow new pay transparency rules when posting jobs publicly. That means including either the expected pay or a salary range in your postings.
You’ll also need to:
Say if the job is for an existing vacancy
Mention if AI is used to screen applicants
Leave out any “Canadian experience” requirements
Let applicants know your hiring decision within 45 days
Keep copies of postings and application forms for at least three years
The goal is to have fairer hiring processes and more accountability. But these changes do come with extra work so it’s a good idea to review your pay strategy, prep your managers for salary conversations, and consider implementing more efficient, compliant job-posting processes.
It might feel like a lot now, but getting ahead of it can help you build a more transparent, trustworthy workplace and attract great talent while you’re at it.
Managing communicable diseases at work
If COVID taught us anything, it’s to take workplace health risks seriously. And with over 3,000 measles cases reported in Canada this year, employees with weakened immune systems may start asking for extra flexibility to stay safe.
If they do, you have a legal duty to consider their request. In a recent case, an employee with a weakened immune system asked his employer for permission to work remotely after raising safety concerns at least three times.
The employer refused, so the employee resigned and filed a claim. The Tribunal ruled in his favour stating it was disability discrimination and he was awarded over $200,000 in damages.
This case is a great example for employers across Canada: if an employee has a weakened immune system, it counts as a disability. And if they can back it up with medical records, you’re expected to explore reasonable ways to support them. That could mean facilitating flexible work, changing their location, reassigning duties, or even providing leave.
And that’s a wrap from me. Tune in next time for my take on the latest headlines and employment law stories, helping keep your business ahead!
