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 »

LTD claims by dismissed employees

Thursday, April 7th, 2011

Employers that dismiss employees without cause, and without ensuring that they take steps to preclude all potential claims, can face significant liability beyond the “typical” wrongful dismissal damages. The recent decision of Mr. Justice Echlin of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Brito v. Canac Kitchens is an example of the type of situation employer’s dread. In that case…

Tags: common law notice, contractual agreement, damages for lost disability benefits, Disability benefits, employment contract, employment law, lengthy notice period, liability, Long-term disability, LTD, minimum notice, moral damages, notice of dismissal, post employment benefits, punitive damages, salary and benefit continuance, severance, termination, termination without cause, wrongful dismissal
Posted in Benefits, Employment Standards, Human Resources, Payroll | Make a Comment »

Failure to use employment agreements properly

Thursday, December 2nd, 2010

A topic that I address often in presentations and with clients is the failure, on the part of the vast majority of employers in Canada, to use employment agreements properly (if at all). As I have said many times, policies and agreements are the easiest ways for employers to establish the rights and obligations of the parties and avoid having them imposed by common law or other principles.

Tags: canadian employment law, common law, employment agreements, employment contract, employment law, Home Depot, reasonable notice, termination without cause, terminations, written contracts of employment, wrongful dismissal claim
Posted in Employment Standards, Human Resources, Recruiting and Hiring | Make a Comment »

Enforceable dismissal clauses

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

One crucial piece of advice that I offer to employers is to have every single employee sign an employment agreement that, if nothing else, sets out what will happen in the event of dismissal without cause. The reason for this suggestion is simple: without a contractual dismissal provision, an employer’s obligations in the event of dismissal without cause are unpredictable and often extensive.

Tags: clear and unambiguous, common law, consideration, Dismissal, employment agreement, employment contract, employment standards, inducement, reasonable notice, termination, termination without cause
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 »