A bonus policy may state that employees who are eligible for bonuses must also be actively employed to receive their bonus payments. That is, employers may institute an “active employment clause”. Courts will uphold valid active employment clauses, as demonstrated by Bois v. MD Physician Services Inc., 2017 ONCA 857 (CanLII).
MD Physician Services Inc. (“MD Physician”) awarded Mark Bois bonuses under its Variable Incentive Plan (“VIP”) in 2009 and 2010. Bonuses are paid in three equal instalments in the three years following the calendar year in which MD Physician awarded the bonus.
Under the VIP, any employee who leaves, or gives notice to leave the organization on or before the bonus payout date was ineligible to receive a bonus payment. Mr. Bois and MD Physician signed a letter to this effect.
Mr. Bois resigned before MD Physician paid out the final instalment of the 2009 bonus and … Continue reading “Employee forfeits $115,000.00 in bonuses by resigning; active employment clause valid”
Archives for March 2018
Non-competition clauses – Language should be clear and unambiguous
Employers should avoid using language that may introduce ambiguity and is broader than necessary to protect the employer’s legitimate interest. Courts will not fix a clause that they find to be ambiguous or overreaching
Privacy damages awarded for commercial use of a person’s image in a public setting
Organizations which use images for commercial purposes would be wise to seek the consent of all persons appearing in such images, even where the images are made in a public setting.