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Discussions on Human Resources, Employment Law, Payroll and Internal Controls

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Ontario Court of Appeal rules that dependent contractors are entitled to reasonable notice

In its recent decision in Keenan v. Canac Kitchens, the Court of Appeal for Ontario confirmed that dependent contractors are entitled to reasonable notice of employment termination. The required notice period can extend to years, and such as in this case, amount to 26 months.

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A brave new world? – Probably not but employers sometimes have to deal with 26 months’ notice and “dependant contractors”

The Ontario Court of Appeal has further shattered the “24 month maximum” myth. In Keenan v. Canac Kitchens Ltd., the Court of Appeal upheld a Trial Judge’s finding that two long service workers were “dependent contractors” and therefore entitled to 26 months’ reasonable notice on termination.

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Not an employee? Not an independent contractor? How the courts define the hybrid

Increasingly, Canadian courts have recognized an in-between class of agents that are not technically employees or not technically independent contractors. Over the past few years, our courts have come up with a hybrid category of agents called "dependent contractors." These are independent individuals who work so closely with employers, and whose relationship status with their "employer" is so sufficiently long-lasting, as to allow them entitlement for reasonable notice.

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