Target

Slaw: No continuity of business: Target not the successor employer of Zellers employees

November 22, 2012 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Union Relations

On November 8, 2012, Ritu Mahil, Vice-Chair of the British Columbia Labour Relations Board decided that there was not a continuity between Zellers’ business at the Brentwood Mall in Burnaby, B.C. for its employees to be successively employed by Target in Canada. Although the employees would perform similar jobs at Target stores as they had at Zellers, and the transaction agreement confirmed the transfer of leases, pharmacy records and the brand waiver, these things were not sufficient to conclude that there would be a handover of these employees. As a result, the union’s application under Section 35 of the Labour Relations Code (“Code”) for a declaration that Target is a successor employer to Zellers with respect to the business carried on by Zellers at the Brentwood Mall in Burnaby, B.C.was dismissed.

bargaining unit, Business, Business continuity, collective agreement, Collective Bargaining, continuity of business, employment law, grievance, Labour Law, Labour Relations Board, Labour Relations Code, Mergers and acquisitions, purchasing employer, selling employer, successor employer, Target, transfer of all or part of a business, union, Unions, Zellers