First Reference Talks

Is severance pay required when an employee is terminated?

Thursday, September 29th, 2011

When I speak at conferences, I am often asked the following question: “Is severance pay required when an employee is terminated?”

Before this question can be answered, we have to first confront the difficulty that some payroll terms traditionally used to describe both termination, as well as any payments resulting from this event, haven’t always been defined with the greatest of clarity. My preference has always been for those terms that convey the clearest meaning of the related employment standards and source deduction requirements.

Tags: constructive dismissal, death benefits, employment law, layoff, loss of employment, Notice, payments on separation, retiring allowance, separation payments, Severance pay, statutory notice, Statutory severance, termination, termination for cause, termination without cause, wages in lieu of notice, wrongful dismissal
Posted in Compensation, Employment Standards, Human Resources, Payroll | Make a Comment »

Top ten employment law myths and mistakes in employment contracts

Thursday, November 4th, 2010

I recently attended the Law Society’s annual Employment Law Summit, which is always filled with top-notch employment lawyers providing valuable insight and practical advice on issues relating to employment law and human resources. Many of the discussions touched upon issues relating to the use of employment agreements, including termination clauses. The comments caused me to consider my own experiences in dealing with…

Tags: canadian employment law, Dismissal, employment agreements, employment contracts, employment law, employment lawyers, just cause, Limiting the definition of just cause for dismissal, statutory notice, Termination clause, Termination provisions
Posted in Employment Standards, Human Resources | Make a Comment »

The importance of notice and manner of dismissal

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

I recently read an Alberta case where a financial consultant, a top performer, was terminated without notice. The court found he was wrongfully dismissed and terminated in an insensitive manner; this error in judgment cost the employer $2.2 million in damages.

Tags: Alberta, Alberta employment standards act, canadian employment law, common law notice, employment standards act, manner of dismissal, reasonable notice, respectful termination, sensitive termination, severance, statutory notice, termination notice, termination without cause, wrongful dismissal
Posted in Employment Standards, Human Resources | Make a Comment »