period of reasonable notice

Widespread confusion on how courts determine the amount of notice of dismissal

October 6, 2011 Stuart Rudner Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Payroll, Wages and Compensation

As I and others have frequently commented, there is widespread confusion and misunderstanding regarding how our courts determine the amount of notice of dismissal (sometimes referred to as “severance”) an employee is entitled to. The recent decision of the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench in Coppola v. Capital Pontiac Buick Cadillac GMC Ltd. provides a fairly thorough analysis.

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Ontario Court of Appeal deals with stock grants and termination

May 3, 2011 Earl Altman Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources

Long gone are the days when employees would receive pay cheques at the end of the week and possibly a Christmas bonus each year. Compensation for employees, particularly senior employees, has become increasingly complex as employers seek to incent specific behaviours among their executives. In addition, changing tax laws and the wild gyrations of the stock markets have made stock options more difficult to administer and less appealing to employees.

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Employee’s options after constructive dismissal

April 15, 2011 Earl Altman Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources

What does an employee do if she has been constructively dismissed but has not been told to leave her employ? Is she still entitled to continue to work for the employer and look for alternative employment? Is she obligated to do so?

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Bonus entitlement on termination

April 5, 2011 Earl Altman Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Wages and Compensation

In assessing either termination packages, or damages flowing from wrongful dismissal, counsel is often faced with a myriad of non salaried compensation payable to employees. This compensation includes items such as stock options, stock grants, non monetary benefits such as health and dental insurance, and bonuses. Over the years, the provisions of bonus plans have become more sophisticated, and more complicated. Employers have attempted, with the assistance of counsel, to include provisions for various contingencies in these bonus plans in order to better protect the employer. However, the more complicated the plan, the more difficult it is to assess whether or not a dismissed employee is, in fact, entitled to compensation for bonuses which might have been earned during the period of reasonable notice.