termination without cause
April 5, 2013 Stuart Rudner Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources,
Most people assume that they know what a probationary period is and how it works in Canada. Unfortunately, however, there are many misconceptions with respect to the law in this regard, and many employers unknowingly expose themselves to significant liability when they hire new employees.
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October 18, 2012 Yosie Saint-Cyr Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation,
The three most popular HRinfodesk articles this week deal with terminating for cause without cause, employee travel expenses, and a case about dismissal due to Facebook postings.
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August 2, 2012 Stuart Rudner Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Wages and Compensation,
Last year, I reminded employers of the danger of failing to continue disability benefits after dismissing an employee and providing pay in lieu of notice. An important case has now passed through the Ontario Court of Appeal…
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July 25, 2012 Alison J. Bird Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Payroll, Wages and Compensation,
On June 21, the Ontario Court of Appeal reversed the trial decision in Bowes v. Goss. It held that the duty to mitigate does not apply where an employment contract contains a clause setting out an employee’s severance entitlement arising from a termination without cause. However, the decision maintains the duty to mitigate where it is expressly incorporated in the employment contract.
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May 1, 2012 Alan McEwen Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Payroll, Wages and Compensation
In Ontario, employers owe vacation pay on employee wages. Wages are defined in section 1 of the Employment Standards Act to include “any payment required to be made by an employer to an employee.” Here is where it gets tricky. In Ontario, the employment standards may require two separate types of payments to an employee who is terminated without cause.
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April 27, 2012 Christina Catenacci Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice just decided that an employer terminated a 65-year-old long-term employee without the proper amount of notice or severance. As a result, the employer had to pay hefty damages, interest and costs award
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April 5, 2012 Stuart Rudner Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources
As those who read my comments regularly will know, I recommend that every employee be asked to sign an employment agreement that sets out, among other things, the amount of notice or pay in lieu thereof that will be required in the event of a dismissal without cause. Such a provision will eliminate all of the uncertainty that typically arises at the time of dismissal when the parties must assess, negotiate and possibly litigate what “reasonable notice” would be in light of all the circumstances.
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March 22, 2012 Earl Altman Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits
Most employers are familiar with the potential legal exposure to damages that arises from dismissing an employee without cause. The damages are normally quantified by the value of compensation the dismissed employee would have received during the agreed-upon or court-ordered period of reasonable notice. However, most employers would not contemplate the possibility of having to pay the dismissed employee the value of disability benefits he or she would have received under a disability insurance policy until age 65…
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November 24, 2011 Earl Altman Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Payroll, Wages and Compensation
Probably the most prevalent misconception in the area of employment law is the notion that all employees are entitled to “one month per year” as notice of termination without cause. This has, in the past, been referred to as the golden rule. In spite of repeated judicial pronouncements that the rule no longer applies, human resources professionals continue to apply it.
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September 29, 2011 Alan McEwen Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Payroll, Wages and Compensation
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.
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April 7, 2011 Stuart Rudner Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits
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…
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December 2, 2010 Stuart Rudner Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Recruiting and Hiring
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.
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August 5, 2010 Stuart Rudner Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources
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.
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January 22, 2010 Christina Catenacci Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources
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.
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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
