Out of Office: Managing Employee Leaves of Absence and Requests to Work-From-Home

Managing leaves of absence in the workplace is important for a number of reasons, from maintaining productivity to minimizing the disruption and cost of employee absences. However, this isn’t always a simple task, with employers required to navigate a tangled web of employment standards legislation, contractual leave entitlements and privacy considerations. Depending on the circumstances, they may even be required to consider the duty to accommodate an employee on protected human rights grounds.

On May 26, 2026, join Emond Harnden’s Erica Bennett and Jake Tolton for an informative breakfast seminar that will cover topics such as:

• The types of statutory leaves available to provincially and federally regulated employees, their interaction with contractual leaves, and the potential consequences of improperly denying an employee’s request for statutory leave,
• The importance of properly managing leaves, including in particular as it relates to requesting information to determine an employee’s eligibility for leave or as part of the duty to accommodate,
• Determining whether work-from-home (WFH) arrangements can provide a reasonable alternative to a leave of absence when an employee’s disability or family caregiving responsibilities are at issue, and
• What to do in various scenarios, including where a medical note provided in support of a request for leave is vague and where a doctor outlines a specific accommodation measure like a temporary leave or WFH arrangement.