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News and Discussions on Payroll & Employment Law

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What managers can learn from selection of new Pope

The mantra “Hire Slow and Fire Quickly” has been a favourite of business writers for years. However, an increasing number of thinkers are disagreeing with its sentiment. Danny Boce from Fast Company recently wrote “that catchphrase isn’t just dumb, it’s counterproductive,” particularly for start-ups.

 

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Slaw: Saskatchewan employer successful in enforcing non-compete clause

The Queen’s Bench for Saskatchewan just granted an injunction restraining a former employee from competing against his former employer, soliciting the employer’s clients, and using any of the employer’s confidential information he garnered while working with the employer.

 

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Action for constructive dismissal unsuccessful where employee created hostile workplace

The British Columbia Supreme Court recently expressed disapproval of a claim for constructive dismissal on the basis of negative treatment where the plaintiff was an active participant in the creation of the toxic work environment.

 

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Facebook and employees’ rights

You’ve probably heard by now that some employers in the United States have come up with the idea of asking prospective employees for their Facebook passwords so they can take a closer look at what these candidates are all about. Is it legal? Is it ethical? Is it fair?

 

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Employees that wish to withdraw resignations: what to do?

Employers should never accept resignations from employees that are upset. It simply casts a “wider net of possible financial exposure” if things turn nasty. In other words, judges or juries probably won’t sympathize with the issue of resignation acceptance if the employee is genuinely and legitimately upset (not because someone misplaced their red stapler).

 

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Was it a termination or a resignation? Credibility was key

In a recent case coming out of the Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick, the Court believed the employee’s story that he was terminated without cause, rather than the employer’s story that the employee resigned. When looking at the facts, the Court found the employee to be the more credible witness and awarded termination notice of 23 months.

 

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The standards challenge

How do you measure turnover? Most people think they understand turnover. It is a simple and useful concept when it comes to understanding the flow of people through your organization. It is an important marker for determining overall organizational health and likely productivity impacts. If turnover is too high, your business stalls due to constant re-training; if turnover is too low, it can stagnate, leading to mediocre performance.

 

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Written agreements in the employment relationship are valuable

I have written in this blog and elsewhere, of the value in written employment contracts, written offers of employment, and written employment policies. Much like the break up of a marriage, the parties to the dissolution of the employment relationship often have widely divergent recollections of the understanding of the terms of the relationship when they were entered into. In particular,…

 

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Unspoken and unaddressed harassment claims leads to workplace violence

I recently read in the news a classic case of unaddressed harassment claims that led to the worst form of workplace violence. This case may stem from the US but all the same principles and warnings apply in Canada as well. The case involves the death of nine people (including the suspected gunman) on Tuesday August 3, 2010, in a shooting rampage at a beer distributor in Connecticut.

 

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Competing with former employers

The Ontario Superior Court re-affirmed the freedom of employees to leave their employer and set up a competitive business.

 

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Jail for lying in a civil action?

Clearly, if a court finds that one party has been dishonest, it will have serious negative repercussions with respect to their chances of success. It can also result in a cost award against them. The question for today, however, is whether it is appropriate to also find parties who lie during the litigation process in contempt, and if so, what the appropriate penalty should be.

 

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