Working From Home? You May Still Need A Pardon
by Joel LaForest, Research Analyst with Pardon Applications of Canada
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had an increasingly volatile impact on businesses in virtually all industries. Across the country, employers have been forced to shut their doors to the public, leaving thousands of Canadians and residents jobless or learning to adapt to working from home. While you may be tempted to think that a criminal record wouldn’t affect those who do their work remotely, this isn’t the case.
This article explores the numbers surrounding this growing trend of remote work. And, since organizations have an increasing responsibility to keep online data safe, we’ll investigate whether it may be necessary to get a Canadian Pardon, even when working remotely.
Let’s start with the numbers.
The Rise of Remote Work in Canada
According to a study by Regus Canada, in 2017 roughly 47% of Canadians were working outside of their employer’s main headquarters for at least half of the work week. Of those 47%, 39% stated that they work from home most of the time, while 11% said they work exclusively from home.
Additionally, 54% of the survey’s respondents stated that they typically performed work remotely while travelling to and from their work-related meetings.
On top of this, a whopping 75% of global employers have recently introduced policies to enable their employees to work remotely.
The New Normal
The current pandemic landscape has made it so that even more Canadians and residents than ever are working from home, leaving many to believe that remote work will eventually become part of our “new normal.”
At the onset of the pandemic, StatsCan performed a study, which found that 4 out of 10, or approximately 38.9% of Canadians were working in jobs that could be performed from home. Experts believe that remote work will become increasingly common. By the end of 2021, it’s expected that 25% to 30% of the global workforce will be working from home at least part of the time.
Additionally, the study estimates that 85% of all jobs in finance, insurance, education, science, and technical services could plausibly be done from home, while 6% of jobs in the accommodation and foodservice industry, and roughly 4% in the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industries, could be performed from home.
Why You May Still Need A Pardon
Remote work raises many questions surrounding the security of information being shared online, especially when you consider the fact that the rate of cybercrimes committed in Canada and abroad are at all-time highs.
Businesses are responsible for their own sensitive information being shared online and that of both their employees and their customers. And thanks to remote work being more popular than ever, there’s more data than ever being shared online.
It’s in the best interest of Canadian employers to perform background checks on all employees, whether they work in-person or remotely, especially in the finance industry, where workers often deal with a considerable amount of sensitive information.
A Pardon can be a valuable step to ensure an individual’s previous criminal record will not inhibit their remote employment or remote work opportunities in the future. A Pardon seals the record in a separate section of Canada’s criminal database system known as “CPIC” which is not publicly accessible.
Whether working in a traditional office setting, as a contractor or tradesperson, or employed remotely, individuals with a criminal record can get a free email report to see if they qualify for a Pardon or Record Suspension.
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About the Author
Joel LaForest is a Research Analyst with Pardon Applications of Canada and the owner of The Hobo Marketing Co., specializing in writing about law, finance, health, and wealth.
To see if you qualify for a Canadian Pardon, fill out the form below or contact Pardon Applications of Canada via 866-383-9744.
