severance entitlement

Silence proves costly: employment agreements and reasonable notice

June 13, 2016 Vey Willetts LLP Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Wages and Compensation

Employers who fail to incorporate a binding termination clause into their written employment agreements may face significant, and unexpected, liability for severance. This lesson was learned the hard way by Qualified Metal Fabricators (“QML”) in a recent case out of Toronto.

accommodation, comparable re-employment, damage award, Dismissal, duty to accommodate, employment agreements, employment law, employment standards act, reasonable notice, severance entitlement, termination, termination pay, terminations, wrongful dismissal

No duty to mitigate where employment contract stipulates severance

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.

common law reasonable notice, duty to mitigate, employment contract, employment law, fixed notice period, reasonable notice, severance, severance entitlement, termination without cause, terminations, wrongful dismissal