Financial, health and relationship goals top the list for employers and employees alike

1. Cut down on people costs (and help your employees achieve better work/life balance)

Imagine paying overtime to all employees who work more than eight hours a day or 40 hours a week, only to find out the company had no statutory obligation to do so at those thresholds. If this sounds familiar, demystifying overtime is a key cost-saving measure for your business in 2025.

Statutory overtime in Ontario is weekly, not hourly, and applies to all non-exempt employees (yes, even salaried ones) who work more than 44 hours per week. Companies must pay wages at 1.5 times the regular rate for each hour above that weekly threshold, regardless of whether the employee had obtained approval in advance. And legislated exemptions depend on the employee’s actual duties, not just their “manager” title, for example.

Ministry complaints, or even class action lawsuits, that beleaguer employers can be addressed by properly identifying exempt employees, aligning overtime thresholds with the law and crafting compliant schedules that spread overtime hours among employees to encourage a healthy balance and avoid the expense of unbudgeted overtime claims.

2. Calculate vacation pay correctly (and ensure your employees can rest and recharge)

An employee requests two weeks off for her mid-winter vacation to a tropical island and the company continues her salary for the two weeks she is away. Your vacation pay obligations to her are fulfilled, right? Unfortunately, no. As some may be shocked to learn, vacation pay must be calculated on gross wages, which includes bonuses (in certain cases), commissions and overtime. On the other hand, certain employees may not be entitled to vacation pay at all.

This past year, we saw a number of cases of former employees suing their employers for withheld vacation pay and claims that noncompliant provisions in employment agreements invalidate the entire contract.

Getting ahead of this issue for 2025 can save headaches, audits and complaints while providing employees some much needed rest to boost morale and help them work more efficiently.

3. Get (organizationally) healthy

Effective management teams know the quote, “what gets measured, gets managed.” Just like any personal fitness resolution, companies should be taking measurements of organizational health and stepping on the metaphorical scale to monitor what’s working and what is not. Ontario’s health and safety legislation requires that employers have, and annually review, a health and safety policy and a workplace harassment and violence policy. Tying this annual review to the company’s New Year’s resolutions serves as a good reminder.

The first step in getting an organization into shape is an annual headcount of employees. If, as of Jan. 1, a company has 25 employees or more, electronic monitoring and disconnecting from work policies are required.

4. Build better and more meaningful relationships

Happy and healthy people eliminate any guesswork by having well-defined relationships. (Nobody likes the “DTR” talk, but let’s leave situationships in 2024, shall we?)

DTR: define the relationship. Having an enforceable agreement — whether for employees or contractors, with indefinite or specific terms — is critical to building lasting relationships in which both parties will understand their expectations and liabilities.

Moreover, such agreements can save hundreds of thousands of dollars if the relationship ends. In fact, given significant legal developments over the last three to five years, most employment lawyers can venture a fairly accurate guess about an agreement’s enforceability based on the drafting year alone. If your company is using agreement templates that have not been recently updated (especially those predating 2023), it is time to have them reviewed. Otherwise, they may not be worth the paper they are written on.

5. Plan for the future with set (and realistic) timelines

Resolutions don’t have to start in January. 2025 is expected to bring a new long-term illness leave, which takes effect mid-year, along with a new along with a new placement of a child leave, which may be enacted at any time. Employers also have time to prepare for upcoming changes to interview practices and job postings, set to take effect Jan. 1, 2026.

With federal and provincial elections around the corner, we anticipate many more updates to come. Get a head start on changes slated to come into effect over the next 12 months and your future self will be thanking you later.

Unlike some unrealistic New Year’s resolutions, these ones provide an attainable and refreshed approach to operations that is both cost effective and legally compliant. Remember, consistency is key and won’t have you wishing, “New Year, New Me” next year.

From all of us at Levitt LLP, we wish you a happy, healthy, safe and productive 2025!