discipline
March 25, 2013 Adam Gorley Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Training and Development,
When a workplace supervisor accessed pornographic, racist and other inappropriate material via a work computer and circulated it to employees and employer contacts, the employer had just cause to dismiss him. The employee claimed he was wrongfully dismissed, but the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench was not convinced and acceded to the employer’s request to dismiss the employee’s claim without trial.
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February 7, 2013 Stuart Rudner Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Privacy and Security, Union Relations,
If employers were not already convinced that social media is a legitimate concern and that they need to take steps to control their employees’ use thereof, some recent events should make this even clearer. Within the last week, HMV found itself on the wrong end of extremely negative publicity after some of its [...]
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January 25, 2013 Stuart Rudner Employee Relations, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Union Relations,
A recent decision rendered by an Ontario Arbitrator raises questions about the hard line that seemed to have been taken by adjudicators as a result of An Act to amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act with respect to violence and harassment in the workplace and other matters (formerly Bill 168), which amended the Occupational Health & Safety Act in order to address workplace violence and harassment.
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October 4, 2012 Yosie Saint-Cyr Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Wages and Compensation,
The three most popular HRinfodesk articles this week deal with 2013 EI rates, hypersensitivity to scent in the workplace and insurbordinate behaviour…
aggressive behaviour, Disability, discipline, Dismissal, Employment Insurance, HRinfodesk, hypersensitivity to scent, insubordinate behaviour, Last chance aggreements, smells in the workplace, terminations, workplace conduct and behaviour
September 13, 2012 Yosie Saint-Cyr Employee Relations, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Wages and Compensation,
The three most viewed articles in this week HRinfodesk newsletter deals with salary projections for 2013, taxability of fitness memberships and discipline linked to terminations.
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September 4, 2012 Michele Glassford Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources,
Every organization has disciplinary concerns at some point in time arising from an employee’s actions which are deemed unacceptable to the employer and which may require some form of discipline to be administered. Generally, employees respect the need for discipline and usually appreciate having a disciplinary process that is deemed to be fair and impartial.
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June 7, 2012 Stuart Rudner Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Privacy and Security, Training and Development
In the “old” days, employees took whatever their employers gave them when it came to cellphones or personal digital assistants. However, the popularity of devices such as Apple and Android smartphones prompted a backlash from staff demanding to use their product of choice. Many employers, seeing a way to reduce costs, invited employees to “bring your own device”…
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March 29, 2012 Christina Catenacci Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources
Manitoba’s Court of Queen’s Bench recently confirmed that a termination for cause was inappropriate, given that it was not proportional to the employee’s conduct. As a result, the employer had to pay 12 months’ severance as set out in the employment agreement regarding a termination without cause.
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February 23, 2012 Yosie Saint-Cyr Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HRMS, Human Resources, Training and Development
When an employer seeks to rely on a breach of policy in disciplining an employee, the employer must prove that it clearly communicated the policy to the employee in question and has enforced the policy consistently. The importance of such communication in enforcement of workplace policies was demonstrated in Lambe v. Irving Oil Ltd.
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October 21, 2011 David Hyde Employee Relations, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights
The Ontario Labour Relations Board has provided what some believe to be the most significant legal interpretation yet of workplace harassment and employer reprisal in the context of the recently enacted Bill 168 amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). The case, Conforti v. Investia Financial Services Inc., 2011, was decided on September 23, 2011.
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June 24, 2011 Christina Catenacci Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources
‘Tis the season of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. This time, it’s women who are going to be playing, beginning this Sunday June 26 and ending July 17, in Germany. It may not be as popular as the men’s World Cup, but it is a busy and important year for women’s football/soccer! Will the rate of employee absenteeism be as high as when the men’s World Cup took place? Maybe not; but still, what can employers do to manage a sudden outbreak of “World Cup flu” cases in their workplace?
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April 13, 2011 Christina Catenacci Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources
I recently told you about the high school office assistant who was suspended with pay for making porn movies on the side—well, the school board has decided to terminate her employment.
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January 25, 2011 Andrew Lawson Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources
Pursuant to my blog post of January 11, 2011 discussing the implications of firing by email when an employee files a complaint under human rights legislation, Is it okay to fire an employee by email? It may depend on what course of legal action your former employee pursues.
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January 19, 2011 Yosie Saint-Cyr Human Resources, Human Rights
Can an employer fire a white employee for using the n-word if it lets black employees say it?
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November 19, 2010 Christina Catenacci Human Resources, Human Rights
I recently read a case coming out of the Yukon where an employee accused his employer of discriminating against him based on the ground of mental disability, which was contrary to the Yukon Human Rights Act.
accommodation, bipolar disorder, Disability, discipline, discrimination, duty to accommodate, employment law, flexible work arrangements, human rights act, Human Rights Board of Adjudication, inappropriate conduct, medical assessment, mental disability, paid sick leave, Yukon
I believe smoking (i.e., nicotine) is recognized as an addiction, as Simon mentions, which would engage the question of discrimination. – Jun 18, 9:40 PM
Even though as a non-smoking employer I support the actions of Momentous Corp, I am surprised they have even attempted to take this position, given... – Jun 17, 5:46 PM
Where in Human Rights does it say that smokers are now protected under one of the grounds and if so which ground are they protected... – Jun 17, 3:28 PM
Controlling employee use of social media through contract
February 7, 2013 Stuart Rudner Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Privacy and Security, Union Relations, 0
If employers were not already convinced that social media is a legitimate concern and that they need to take steps to control their employees’ use thereof, some recent events should make this even clearer. Within the last week, HMV found itself on the wrong end of extremely negative publicity after some of its [...]
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