- "Disconnecting from work" refers to not engaging in work-related communications — emails, calls, messages — outside an employee's scheduled work hours, so that the employee is free from…
- Like the electronic monitoring policy requirement, this obligation applies to employers that meet an employee-count threshold under the ESA, measured against a specific date.
- A policy on disconnecting from work should set out the employer's expectations, which can vary business to business.
The expectation that employees answer emails and messages outside their scheduled hours has become common in many workplaces — and Ontario law now requires many employers to put their expectations about that in writing. A written policy on disconnecting from work is a requirement under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 for employers that meet a size threshold, and it is a narrower and more specific obligation than many employers assume.
This article explains what the requirement actually covers, who needs a policy, and what belongs in it.
What "Disconnecting From Work" Means
"Disconnecting from work" refers to not engaging in work-related communications — emails, calls, messages — outside an employee's scheduled work hours, so that the employee is free from the obligation to respond. The requirement does not ban after-hours communication outright; it requires covered employers to have a written policy setting out their expectations on the subject.
Which Employers Must Have a Policy
Like the electronic monitoring policy requirement, this obligation applies to employers that meet an employee-count threshold under the ESA, measured against a specific date. That threshold and measurement date can change, so confirm the current figures against official ESA guidance rather than relying on a number you saw previously — do not assume your business is exempt just because it was below the threshold in an earlier year.
Employers below the threshold are not required to have a policy but may still choose to adopt one as a matter of good practice, particularly if remote or hybrid work has blurred the boundaries of the workday for their team.
What the Policy Should Address
A policy on disconnecting from work should set out the employer's expectations, which can vary business to business. Topics commonly addressed include:
- Whether, and to what extent, employees are expected to monitor or respond to work communications outside scheduled hours.
- Expectations that differ by role — for example, an on-call requirement for certain positions versus none for others.
- How the policy interacts with overtime rules, since responding to messages outside scheduled hours can, in some circumstances, raise questions about hours of work and overtime pay.
- When the policy was prepared and, if applicable, most recently updated.
The policy needs to be distributed to employees — both current staff and new hires within a set period after they start — not simply drafted and filed away.
What the Law Does Not Require
This is a written-policy requirement, not a guarantee of specific hours of availability or a ban on after-hours contact. The ESA does not dictate what the policy's content must actually promise employees — a business remains free to set its own expectations about after-hours availability, as long as those expectations are put in writing and communicated, and as long as they do not conflict with other ESA obligations like overtime pay.
How This Fits With Other Workplace Policies
A disconnecting-from-work policy does not exist in isolation. It typically sits alongside — and should be consistent with — a business's electronic monitoring policy, its overtime and hours-of-work practices, and any remote or hybrid work policy already in place. If one policy tells employees they are not expected to respond after hours while another practice quietly rewards those who do anyway, the written policy will not do much to manage expectations or reduce friction on the ground.
Reviewing these policies together, rather than drafting each one in isolation, tends to produce a more consistent and more defensible set of workplace expectations overall.
Keeping the Policy Current
Review the policy whenever the business's communication culture changes — a shift to more remote work, new collaboration tools, or growth past the applicable employee threshold are all good reasons to revisit it. A policy that no longer reflects how the business actually operates does little to manage expectations or reduce disputes.
Frequently asked questions
Does this mean employees can legally ignore all after-hours messages?
Not necessarily — the requirement is about having a written policy stating the employer's expectations, not a blanket statutory right to ignore all communication outside scheduled hours. What the policy actually says about availability is largely up to the employer, subject to other ESA obligations.
Do we need a separate policy from our electronic monitoring policy?
They address different subjects — one covers monitoring, the other covers after-hours communication expectations — and are separate requirements under the ESA, even though many employers choose to review and update both around the same time.
How do we know if our business meets the threshold?
The threshold is based on employee headcount measured against a specific date under the ESA and its regulations, and it can be adjusted. Confirm the current number through official ESA guidance or with a lawyer rather than relying on a figure that may be out of date.
Can we just tell employees verbally what we expect instead of writing a policy?
No — for employers that meet the threshold, the ESA specifically requires a written policy, not just a verbal understanding or informal practice, however consistently it may be applied.
Does the policy need to be the same for every role in the business?
No. A policy can set different expectations for different roles — for example, an on-call expectation for a small number of positions — as long as those distinctions are clearly written into the policy rather than left as an unwritten double standard.
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