Can an employer keep an employee on layoff indefinitely?
Usually, no. The Act says that after certain periods of layoff, an employer may have to pay an employee termination pay, severance pay or both. If an employee has a collective agreement (union contract) at his or her workplace or an employment contract with his or her employer, it may have rules about how long a layoff may last. When does an employee get termination pay? If an employer advises an employee that he or she is laid off and does not give the employee a recall to work date, the employee is considered to have been terminated and termination pay is due and owing to the employee seven days after the employee’s last day of work. If the employer gives the employee a recall to work date and later the employer finds that the original recall date must be extended, there may be no termination as long as the layoff remains temporary, e.g., the employee is called back to work before the 13- or 35-week periods (as described above) are over. For the purposes of establishing an employee’s
