non-solicitation

Contracts and employment agreements

July 6, 2016 Rubin Thomlinson LLP Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Source Deductions and Reporting, Wages and Compensation

All employment relationships in Ontario are deemed to be contractual, whether or not a written contract is in place between the parties. When there is no written contract, the common law (judge-made law) imports a number of obligations into the contract that will bind the employer and the employee.

commission plans, common law, conflicts of interest, copyright of works, duty to act fairly, employee benefit plans, employment agreement, employment law, employment relationships, incentive compensation plans, intellectual property rights, judge-made law, non-competition, non-solicitation, pension plans, reasonable notice, restrictive covenants, right to discipline, right to terminate, safe work environment, termination, written contract

Ontario Employment Law Conference wrap-up: We learned the latest!

June 16, 2014 Adam Gorley Accessibility Standards, Conferences, Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Penalties and Fines, Pensions and Benefits, Privacy and Security, Recruiting and Hiring, Standard for Employment, Training and Development, Wages and Compensation

Last Tuesday, over 100 businesses from across Ontario joined us and the employment law team from Stringer LLP to discuss pressing employment issues like avoiding occupational health and safety penalties, accommodating employees’ family status, getting ready for the new Employment Standard, using employment contracts to protect your business, and the perils of employee benefits.

#firstref2014, 15th Ontario Employment Law Conference, 2014 Ontario Employment Law Conference, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, accident response plan, accommodating family status, Allison Taylor, AODA, Child care obligations, criminal code, criminal negligence, Elder care, employment contracts, family status, individualized workplace emergency response information, jail time for OHS offences, Jeremy Schwartz, Jessica Young, Landon Young, Metron Construction, non-competition, non-solicitation, occupational health and safety act, OHS awareness training, OHSA, reasonable accommodation, restrictive covenants, Roofing Medics, Ryan Conlin, Stringer LLP

Impact on employees in company mergers can be significant

March 22, 2013 Earl Altman Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Payroll, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation

Anyone following the financial news over the last number of years has no doubt noticed the increasing frequency with which corporations are merging, or being bought out by other corporations. This often results in efficiencies for the corporations, hopefully leading to greater profit. However, the impact on the employees is often overlooked. Whether the transaction is a share purchase, asset purchase, or other type of structure, the impact on the buyers and sellers is clear. However, the impact on the employees is often less certain.

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Court confirms high threshold to enjoin a former employee from engaging in competition

June 21, 2012 Alison J. Bird Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources

cartoon men with ties standing on target

In Survival Systems Training Ltd. v. Survival Systems Ltd., the Nova Scotia Supreme Court recently dismissed a company’s motion for a injunction to prevent former employees from engaging in competitive activities. The Court confirmed that employers must meet a high threshold in order secure an injunction which would effectively prevent a former employee from working in their chosen vocation.

conflict of interest, direct competition, employment law, employment relationship, engaging in competition, interlocutory injunction, non compete, non-competition, non-solicitation, restrictive covenants

How to craft an enforceable non-solicitation clause

November 23, 2011 Andrew Taillon Employee Relations, Human Resources

Generally speaking, a restrictive covenant acts to restrict the activities of a former employee after their employment has ended. They usually come in one of two forms: non-competition clauses and non-solicitation clauses. The law on restrictive covenants is that they are prima facie unenforceable as they are in restraint of trade and therefore against public policy. In order to be enforced, they must be proven by the party that seeks to enforce them to be a reasonable limit on trade.

British Columbia, Edward Jones v. Mirminachi, employment law, ensure agreement is enforceable, non compete, non-competition, non-solicitation, restrictive covenants

Can employers protect business contacts acquired by employees’ use of social media?

July 15, 2011 Christina Catenacci Employee Relations, Human Resources, Privacy and Security

Consider this: you have encouraged your employee to use online social media during work time to build professional contacts to grow your business. The employee goes ahead and invests time during the workday visiting sites like Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook. This strategy proves to be positive; the contacts have been part of the business growth you have experienced. Then, your employee wants to leave the company and move on to another job. Can you, as the employer, ask for the contact information the employee accumulated during his or her employment?

business opportunities, Emails, employment contract, employment law, employment relationship, facebook, in the course of employment, LinkedIn, networking, non-disclosure, non-solicitation, personal versus work, professional contacts, restrictive covenants, social media, social media portability, social media sites, social networking, twitter, work-related

Superior court refuses employer’s request for injunction

July 6, 2010 Earl Altman Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources

In yet another example of the reluctance of the Ontario Superior Court to restrict competitive activities of former employees, the Court rejected an employer’s request for an injunction…

common law, competitive activities of former employees, confidentiality, employee shareholder, employment contract, employment law, employment standards, irreparable harm, non-competition, non-solicitation, ontario, restrictive covenant, restrictive covenants, shareholder agreement, solicitating employer customers, termination

Competing with former employers

June 15, 2010 Earl Altman Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources

The Ontario Superior Court re-affirmed the freedom of employees to leave their employer and set up a competitive business.

Dismissal, employment contract, Human Resources, non compete, non-competition, non-solicitation, ontario, resignation, restrictive covenant, termination

Employee exodus: has Moses led your employees to the promised land?

May 18, 2010 Earl Altman Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources

You arrive at the office Monday morning to discover that your Senior Vice-President of Marketing and three of your sales people have resigned and accepted jobs with your competitor. You quickly realize that this has the potential of seriously harming, if not destroying, the company’s business. Do you have any recourse against the departing employees or the company to which they have moved?

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