Number of employees placed on protected unpaid emergency leave during COVID-19 pandemic

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BRANTFORD, ON: Today, Records of Employment were issued to 380 City of Brantford employees, a majority of which have been placed on job protected unpaid emergency leave. Others have been redeployed to assist with additional services that are being provided to seniors and other vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

On March 17, 2020, the Ontario government declared an emergency in response to the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and as such ordered the immediate closure of a number of public venues, including:

  • facilities providing indoor recreational programs
  • public libraries
  • private schools as defined in the Education Act
  • licensed child care centres
  • bars and restaurants, except to the extent that such facilities provide takeout food and delivery
  • theatres including those offering live performances of music, dance, and other art forms, as well as cinemas that show movies, and
  • concert venues

Consequently, unpaid protected leave was added to the Ontario Employment Standards Act because several employees could not perform their duties as a result of the forced closures.

The City of Brantford part-time employees impacted are employed in service areas that are now suspended during the City’s response to protect health and safety and slow the spread of COVID-19 in our community. These include facilities such as the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre, Community Centres, Lion’s Park Arena, the Brantford Civic Centre and the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts.

Affected employees will be able to access financial assistance (such as Employment Insurance or the new Canada Emergency Response Benefit) through Federal Government COVID-19 emergency relief programs. Additionally, interim compensation was provided on April 3rd to part-time employees based on the average of their previous two pays.

“These are extraordinary times for all of us, and this was a difficult decision for the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC)”, said Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Brian Hutchings. “However, we are fiscally accountable to our citizens to ensure responsible stewardship of public funding and given the length of time that the closures of City facilities and non-essential programming will be in place, it is the right time to implement this measure.”

A majority of full-time workers remain employed to focus on the City’s emergency response to the pandemic as well as to continue delivering essential services, including Water, Social Assistance and Homelessness, Brantford Fire, Brantford Transit and Communications.

Consistent with guidelines to stay home, several administrative employees are working from home to provide support to critical service areas, with regular monitoring practices in place to ensure projects and expected productivity are maintained. 

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Media Contact

Maria Visocchi - Director, Communications and Community Engagement
City of Brantford | 519.751.9900 ext. 5754 |  mvisocchi@brantford.ca

 

 

 

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