wrongful dismissal
April 25, 2013 Yosie Saint-Cyr Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Training and Development, Union Relations,
The three most viewed articles on HRinfodesk this week deal with dishonesty as cause for employee termination, the new CSA national OHS training standard and how ongoing tardiness and breach of trust justified termination for cause
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April 11, 2013 Yosie Saint-Cyr Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Privacy and Security, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation,
The three most viewed articles on HRinfodesk this week deal with the court calling into question the termination without notice of a probationary employee, how the law around references is changing and how a mistake in a contract led to constructive dismissal.
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April 9, 2013 Amery Boyer Employee Relations, Human Resources, Union Relations,
According to its website, the Just Us! Co-op set out in 1995 to become Canada’s first Fair Trade coffee roaster. It was a small, but bold experiment to show that the coffee business, and all businesses, could be done differently, putting People and the Planet before Profits™ locally and globally.
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March 25, 2013 Adam Gorley Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Training and Development,
When a workplace supervisor accessed pornographic, racist and other inappropriate material via a work computer and circulated it to employees and employer contacts, the employer had just cause to dismiss him. The employee claimed he was wrongfully dismissed, but the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench was not convinced and acceded to the employer’s request to dismiss the employee’s claim without trial.
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March 13, 2013 Adam Gorley Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources,
A small-town bank manager who had an affair with a subordinate—including sex in the bank, during and after hours—should not have been dismissed for cause, according to the Federal Court of Appeal. Nevertheless, given the circumstances, it was not appropriate to reinstate the employee to his job.
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March 11, 2013 Alison J. Bird Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits,
If an employee negotiates a termination package with an employer but does not sign a release, can they successfully claim additional pay in lieu of notice in a court action? Interestingly, the Ontario Superior Court recently held that the answer for one employee in these circumstances was “no”.
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March 7, 2013 Stuart Rudner Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources,
This recent case provides a timely reminder for employers, employees, and their counsel that despite the requirements in a criminal prosecution, an employer does not have to prove allegations of misconduct “beyond a reasonable doubt” in the content of a wrongful dismissal claim.
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March 1, 2013 Adam Gorley Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Union Relations,
It seems that employers must continually learn that it is crucial to have clear written policies in place governing employee conduct and discipline, and to apply those policies consistently. An Alberta Employment Standards Umpire recently heard a case that reiterates the simple lesson.
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February 28, 2013 Yosie Saint-Cyr Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits,
The three most viewed articles on HRinfodesk this week deal with EI parental benefits for a twin birth, another federal court ruling on discrimination regarding childcare obligations and how an employer responded to online harassment of management.
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January 28, 2013 Earl Altman Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation,
Perhaps because of the increased press directed to union conflicts, or perhaps due solely to a misunderstanding of the employment relationship, many HR professionals perceive that they have the right to suspend an employee based on some perceived or actual misconduct by that employee. However, while most union contracts do provide the right of suspension to the employer, there is no similar right available at common law.
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January 24, 2013 Yosie Saint-Cyr Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Wages and Compensation,
The three most viewed articles on HRinfodesk this week deal with psychological health and safety, a wrongful dismissal claim that applied ‘rule of thumb’ principal and a court ruling about a workplace accident because employee failed to follow instructions.
'rule of thumb, common law, common law notice, damages for wrongful dismissal, Notice of termination, Ontario Court of Justice, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, psychological health and safety, terminations, wrongful dismissal
November 28, 2012 Earl Altman Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits,
I am frequently asked by employer clients to describe what type of conduct by an employee will be held by the courts to qualify as cause for dismissal. Employers are often frustrated by the answer they receive – that it seems that nothing less than stealing money from the company will suffice. In the case of long time employees without prior instances of misconduct, theft may still be insufficient. A recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court has fortunately clarified the circumstances in which courts will find cause for dismissal as a result of dishonesty. What is striking about the decision is the reliance of the judge on a seemingly insignificant act committed by a nineteen year employee.
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November 19, 2012 Lauren Bride Accessibility Standards, Employee Relations, Human Resources, Human Rights, Recruiting and Hiring, Standard for Employment,
Last week we posted an entry about the Attorney General’s report on the Ontario Human Rights Review. Today’s post will revisit the report, attending to the concerns it may raise for employers.
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November 12, 2012 Alison J. Bird Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources,
In AMEC Americas Limited v. MacWilliams, 2012 NBCA 46, the New Brunswick Court of Appeal held that an employer’s defence that an employee failed to mitigate his damages by refusing to accept its settlement offers had no merit. As leave to appeal the decision was recently refused by the Supreme Court of Canada, the current answer to our question (at least in New Brunswick) is “no”.
common law notice, damages, denial of liability, disputes and litigation, employee's legal entitlement, failure to mitigate, full and final release, New Brunswick, obilgation to pay damages, reasonable notice, settlement offer, Supreme Court of Canada, wrongful dismissal
November 5, 2012 Matt Lalande Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources,
A few months ago I provided a contribution to this blog concerning an update on the law of just cause. I am doing so again with today’s blog, not for the fact that I am really interested in the law of just cause, but rather, judicial decisions that supported the defendant’s termination for just cause are quite uncommon and the factual circumstances are always quite interesting, such as in the newly released decision of Mykki Cavic v. Costco Wholesale Canada Limited.
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Hi John, Thanks for your comment. Check out paragraph 67 of the decision: "Accordingly, none of what I have written above is to suggest or... – May 22, 4:38 PM
This is really spin doctoring the decision. My firm appeared at the Court of Appeal for an intervenor the University of Saskatchewan. Whatever the Supreme... – May 22, 1:00 AM
