As a follow up to yesterday’s e-Alert regarding Ontario’s second state of emergency, we wanted to share further information provided by the government late yesterday regarding what businesses are permitted to remain open as of 12:01am Thursday, along with sector specific public health and workplace safety measures. That information can be found here, starting at Page 14. We urge all clients to review this document, and any secondary materials published by your industry’s business association or similar organizations and determine whether you can operate and, if so, how. As you can appreciate, given our specialized area of expertise, we are not in a position to opine on any client’s inclusion or exclusion on the list at this time. That said, for most of you, it appears these measures will permit you to continue to operate, but we highly recommend you refer to the linked information to confirm same.
Further clarification regarding whether your business can operate can be obtained by calling the Stop the Spread Business Information Line: 1-888-444-3659.
As a reminder, per yesterday’s announcement, any employee who has the ability to work from home, should do so.
If you are permitted to remain operational and there is confusion amongst your staff regarding their attendance at work, we recommend sending your employees a version of the below email:
Dear Staff,
Further to yesterday’s announcement in Ontario, and in conformity with that announcement, we confirm that we are still open and operational, while adhering to all necessary safety protocols to limit the spread of COVID-19. Accordingly, unless you have been specifically directed to work from home by your manager, or you have another approved reason for not attending work (and have reported that reason to your manager), we expect all employees to attend at work and adhere to the safety protocols in place.
If you have any questions about this, or working from home generally, please reach out to speak to an e2r™ Advisor.