Government Benefits and Bringing Employees Back: The CERB and CEWS
This week in Ontario many businesses are re-opening. Employers and employees alike have questions about going back to work and the intersection of re-starting businesses with the various government subsidies that have been tiding many people over.
Bringing Employees Back to Work Using the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)
Many employers have laid off a good portion of their workforce and now with re-opening are looking to bring some of those workers back. Businesses that have been hit hard financially may be able to take advantage of the CEWS while earnings are still uncertain as business ramps back up. Getting the CEWS for employees who have been laid off is a little complicated because of the definition of an eligible employee. But first, let’s look at eligible employers.
The provinces are opening back up and various guidance has been issued to employers regarding how to do so safely, but the virus still exists and it’s still contagious. Governments who have been encouraging people to stay home are now contemplating how to get people to go out when really conditions regarding the virus have not drastically changed. This juxtaposition will have an impact on workplaces. 
What are the employer’s obligations to an employee when an employee is not working in the office? With so many employees now working from home, employers’ health and safety obligations need to be reexamined. 
