Termination clause
November 22, 2017 Simon Heath, BA, MIR, LLB, Heath Law Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Recruiting and Hiring
This case is a useful reminder that in asset sales, as opposed to share purchases, the purchasing employer is not obligated to hire all the vendor’s employees.
asset sale, consideration, employment contract, employment law, ESA, offer of employment, ontario employment standards act, Termination clause
November 16, 2017 Stringer LLP Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll
Some employers erroneously believe that there is a “rule of thumb” in the common law that employees are entitled to a month of notice per year of service. The Ontario Court of Appeal has held that there is no such rule, and that determinations of reasonable notice must be based on an assessment of all relevant factors.
common law reasonable notice, employment law, enforceability of termination clauses, reasonable notice, short service employee, termination, Termination clause, termination notice
November 15, 2017 Vey Willetts LLP Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll
A recent summary judgment motion before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Amberber v. IBM Canada Limited, serves as an important reminder to employers of the need to draft contractual termination clauses with a high degree of clarity, or risk unanticipated liability in the event of a without cause dismissal.
common law reasonable notice of termination, damages for wrongful dismissal, dismissal without cause, employment law, employment standards act, reasonable notice of termination, Termination clause, wrongful dismissal
May 12, 2017 Vey Willetts 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
A recent decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal dealt with the unusual situation of a defendant employer arguing that its own contractual termination provision was unenforceable and thus the plaintiff employee was entitled to common law reasonable notice. Employees frequently challenge the enforceability of a termination provision to seek common law notice, however, it is rare that an employer would do the same.
common law notice, employment law, employment standards act, ESA, Roberts v. Zoomermedia Limited, termination, Termination clause, termination provision, Wood v Fred Deeley Imports Ltd.
April 6, 2017 Cristina Lavecchia Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Source Deductions and Reporting, Wages and Compensation
The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with: an employment agreement not signed before the first day of work; a volunteer in a coma who willingly assumed risks of the task that caused his injury; and the electronic distribution of T4 information slips.
Duty of care, employment agreement, employment contract, employment law, employment standards act, fresh consideration, occupational health and safety act, occupiers' liability, Occupiers’ Liability Act, OHSA, signing employment agreement before start date, T4, T4 information slips, Termination clause, volunteer, volunteer falls, volunteer injured, volunteer liability
February 27, 2017 Jeff Dutton, Dutton Employment Law Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Source Deductions and Reporting, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation
Employees are entitled to reasonable notice upon termination of their employment. However, a termination clause contained in an employment contract may oust the employer’s obligation to provide reasonable notice, so long as the termination clause actually limits the employee’s entitlement to notice, without violating employment standards.
Clarke v. Insight Components (Canada) Inc., employee termination, employment law, employment standards act, employment standards code, Kosowan v Concept Electric, Miller v. A.B.M. Canada Inc., Nutting v Franklin Templeton Investments Corp, Termination clause, termination of employment
February 14, 2017 Doug MacLeod, MacLeod Law Firm Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Source Deductions and Reporting, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation
Once upon a time, employees did not sign employment contracts with termination clauses and employment lawyers fought over the appropriate “reasonable” notice period. In 2017, however, employees now claim in addition to wrongful dismissal damages, human rights damages, moral or Wallace damages, punitive damages, and damages for the intentional infliction of mental stress.
damages, Doyle v. Zochem Incorporated, employment contract, employment law, harassment complaint, human rights damages, punitive damages, reasonable notice period, short–term disability benefits, termination, Termination clause, Wallace damages, wrongful dismissal, wrongful dismissal damages
February 13, 2017 Sara Forte Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring, Source Deductions and Reporting, Wages and Compensation
As an employment lawyer, my consistent advice to employers is, whether you have one employee or one hundred employees, every employer needs to have written employment contracts. There are a number of ways that employment contracts can avoid or reduce liability, but the single most valuable term to include is a termination clause. In a written employment contract, employers have the opportunity to limit what can otherwise be a significant liability to their employees for termination pay, also referred to as severance or reasonable notice of termination.
Employee dismissal, employment contract, employment law, Munoz v. Sierra Systems Group Inc., reasonable notice, Termination clause, termination pay, wrongful dismissal
January 26, 2017 Cristina Lavecchia Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Source Deductions and Reporting, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation
The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with: A case that addresses the validity of a termination of employment provision; Consumer Price Index (December 2016); and the release of revised noise guideline “A Guide to the Noise Regulation (O. Reg. 381/15) under the Occupational Health and Safety Act”.
A Guide to the Noise Regulation (O. Reg. 381/15) under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Consumer Price Index, employment law, noise, Noise Regulation, O. Reg. 381/15, Oudin v Le Centre Francophone de Toronto, Termination clause
January 20, 2017 De Bousquet PC Barristers and Solicitors 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
As an employee, by law, you are entitled to reasonable notice of termination of your employment. Employers however, often attempt to limit your legal entitlements by explicitly defining your rights upon termination in the employment contract. In the recent case of Singh v Qualified Metal Fabricators Ltd. an Ontario Court adopted an employee–friendly interpretation of these termination provisions, resolving the potential ambiguities in favour of the employee. While employers are allowed to contractually limit employees’ common–law reasonable notice requirements, they are required to do so with complete precision.
common-law entitlements, employee rights, employment contract, employment law, employment standards act, reasonable notice, Singh v Qualified Metal Fabricators Ltd., termination, Termination clause, termination of employment, Termination provisions, wrongful dismissal
November 24, 2016 Cristina Lavecchia Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring, Source Deductions and Reporting, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation
The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with: A matter where the court had to determine the enforceability of a promoted employee’s new employment contract, particularly the termination clause; current and 2017 payroll rates; and PRPP legislation that is now in force in Ontario.
2017 payroll rates, EI, employment contract, Employment Insurance, employment law, employment standards act, ESA, minimum wage rates, Ontario PRPP, payroll rates, pension plans, pooled registered pension plans, Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act, PRPP, PRPP Regulations, termination, Termination clause, wrongful dismissal
November 17, 2016 Simon Heath, BA, MIR, LLB, Heath Law Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring, Source Deductions and Reporting, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation
When a company promotes an employee, the employer should provide the employee with a new contract to sign prior to allowing the employee to commence his or her duties. In that way, the company is providing the employee with “fresh consideration” to make the contract enforceable. Consideration is the legal word for the exchange of something of value to make contracts enforceable and in a promotion it takes the form of the increased salary that comes with the new job. If the company allows the employee to be promoted and then has the employee sign an employment contract after the promotion has already taken place, there is a chance the employee can argue the terms of the contract that were not discussed pre–promotion should not be enforced for lack of fresh consideration rendering the terms of the contract unenforceable.
consideration, employment contract, employment law, employment standards act, enforceable contract, fresh consideration, Gibbons v. BB Blank Inc., Holland v. Hostopia.com Inc., lack of consideration, promoted employee, promotion, Termination clause, termination clauses
November 7, 2016 Alison J. Bird Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Source Deductions and Reporting, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation
In recent years, there have been many decisions on the enforceability and interpretation of termination clauses in employment contracts—which employers and their legal counsel read with both interest and apprehension. The Nova Scotia Supreme Court has now weighed in on the debate.
Bellini v Ausenco Engineering Alberta Inc., employment law, labour standards code, reasonable notice, reasonable notice entitlement, reasonable notice of termination, Termination clause, termination clauses
October 12, 2016 Doug MacLeod, MacLeod Law Firm Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll
Some employment contracts have termination clauses which state that an employee will receive notice of termination “in accordance with the Employment Standards Act” or words to that effect. The purpose of this clause is to take away the employee’s right to common law “reasonable” notice of termination. In 2000 an Ontario Superior Court judge concluded that this kind of language meant that an employer was only required to provide the employee with the minimum notice of termination stipulated in the ESA. Advantage employers.
common law reasonable notice of termination, employment contract, employment law, employment standards act, minimum notice under ESA, Notice of termination, Singh v Qualified Metal Fabricators Ltd., Termination clause, termination pay
July 14, 2016 Simon Heath, BA, MIR, LLB, Heath Law Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring, Wages and Compensation
The Ontario Court of Appeal weighed in, to some extent, on the hot issue of enforceability of termination clauses in a recent decision. In this case, the clause at issue was written in French. The Applicant argued that the Motion Judge’s interpretation of the clause only referred to “notice” and not “severance” and therefore the termination clause was an unlawful attempt to contract out of the Employment Standards Act because it did not expressly provide for the payment of severance and there are a number of cases suggesting such clauses are void.
employment agreement, employment contract, employment law, employment standards act, enforceability of termination clauses, Notice, Pensions and Benefits, Severance pay, statutory severance pay, summary judgement, Termination clause