Canada’s largest Asian supermarket has backpedalled on a plan to cut paid breaks, following public furor over some Tim Hortons’ franchises decision to slash perks in response to Ontario’s $2.40 minimum wage increase, the Star has learned.

But a Toronto-based legal clinic is sounding the alarm after what it describes as a sudden an uptick in complaints from T&T Supermarket employees in recent months.

The grocery giant — which has seven locations in the GTA — told the Star it implemented a “number of changes” last year to make its operations “more competitive and attractive to talent.” These included better “pension conditions,” higher starting wages and pay increases for existing workers — as well as the elimination of paid breaks. The company said that decision was reversed after “listening sessions” with employees in December and January.

The grocery giant also initiated a round of terminations late last year — an issue the Toronto-based Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic has now raised in a letter to Labour Minister Kevin Flynn along with a number of other “serious allegations.”

“These allegations include laying off older and long-time employees, cutting hours of part-time workers . . . and cutting back benefits for full-time long term workers,” the letter seen by the Star says.

Clinic director Avvy Go said the clinic rarely received complaints about the company prior to November 2017, when lawyers “started to get a number of calls from T&T staff who were being terminated.” Since then, Go said, about a dozen complaints lodged with her staff from long-time workers, some of whom say they were terminated shortly before becoming eligible for employer contributions to their Registered Retirement Savings Plan.

T&T told the Star that the dismissals “had nothing to do with tenure” and that almost half the people recently let go had less than five years’ service with the company.

“The changes we’ve made are in an effort to ensure our business remains competitive, can continue to grow, and to be attractive to new talent,” it said.

While the employees laid off late last year received termination and severance pay in accordance with the law, Go said at least some were asked to sign a confidential release form in exchange for an additional sum of money that constitutes a “final settlement of any outstanding claim by you for wages, severance of otherwise.”

The release seen by the Star states that if workers have not sought legal advice before signing the document it is because they “did not feel they (sic) needed (it).”

Go said confidentiality agreements after termination is not unusual — but that the language on seeking legal advice is.

“The legality of this clause is highly suspect, particularly in light of the fact that almost all of the employees of T&T are racialized immigrants . . . who do not speak English as their first language, if they speak any English at all,” says the clinic’s letter to the Ministry of Labour.

Asked about the releases, T&T told the Star its “termination agreements would be considered standard and likely similar to what your employer or other like businesses would use.”

Go said almost all the terminated workers who contacted the clinic late last year had already signed the release document, meaning they now cannot take legal action against their former employers, such as unjust dismissal suits or human rights complaints. She said the letter raised concerns about “how people understand their rights at the time they are being terminated.”

“Since the Employment Standards Act sets out only minimum employment standards, employees may have other Common Law rights or rights under other statutes such as the Ontario Human Rights Code. As a result, employees may also wish to seek legal advice before signing any documents,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Labour said.

One worker, who spoke to the Star on condition of anonymity because of the terms of his termination agreement, said he was told his position was being eliminated because his store was being renovated. He says he was given the option of accepting either a lower rate of pay for a different job, or leaving the company. According to the legal clinics letter, some workers have contacted staff lawyers to complain that their part-time hours are being slashed.

The Ontario government passed sweeping reforms to the province’s employment standards act in November, which included an increase to the minimum wage from $11.60 to $14 an hour, two paid sick days for all workers and equal pay protections for part-time and temporary employees.

T&T, which is now a subsidiary of Loblaw following a $225-million deal in 2009, has more than 20 outlets across Canada, in addition to its stores in the GTA.

The Warden and Steeles store, where layoffs occurred late last year, is now hiring, according to a sign posted at the checkout counter. In its statement to the Star, the company said by the end of 2018, it will “hire about 10 times more employees than we let go (800 new roles), ensuring we are a net creator of jobs. T&T is a growing retailer, and we will open four additional stores this year, in multiple markets.”

The legal clinic said it supported the province-wide minimum wage increase and other protections introduced through legislation to update workplace laws, Bill 148.

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“But we are very concerned about the tactics used by certain unscrupulous employers to counteract these positive measures,” the legal clinic letter to the ministry says.

“One of the ironies is that some of these workers were working side by side with the employees of Loblaw at its downtown flagship store at Maple Leaf Garden,” it adds.

“While the latter are protected by collective bargaining, the former had no place to complain when they lost their jobs.”