termination without cause

Is the termination clause in my employment agreement enforceable?

November 21, 2019 Vey Willetts LLP Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Wages and Compensation, 0

In this article, we consider some of the circumstances that can result in a termination clause being found unenforceable.

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Does an illegal ‘just cause’ clause void a legal ‘without cause’ clause in an employment agreement?

October 25, 2019 Jeff Dutton, Dutton Employment Law Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, 0

In Waksdale v. Swegon North America Inc., 2019 ONSC 5705 (CanLII), the Plaintiff signed an Employment Agreement that had a Termination Section that contained both a Termination Without Cause Clause and a Termination With Cause Clause. However, it is important to note that the Termination Without Cause Clause and the Termination With Cause Clause were in two distinct paragraphs separated from each other in the Termination Section. They were not mixed together in the same paragraph.

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Business purchasers use employment contracts to try to ‘cover their assets’ – Can it work?

September 19, 2018 Piccolo Heath LLP Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Recruiting and Hiring

In the case of Krishnamoorthy v. Olympus Inc., was the offer of employment by the new employer adequate consideration, thus creating a new binding contract?

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Off-duty drunk driving not just cause for termination – Even for a firefighter

June 27, 2018 Stringer LLP Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll

In Klonteig v West Kelowna (District), the British Columbia Superior Court found that an employer that terminated a firefighter for driving drunk in a fire department vehicle while off duty did not have just cause to terminate his employment.

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BC Court of Appeal clarifies employee’s duty to mitigate and necessary deductions for “avoided,” and “avoidable”, loss

June 25, 2018 Employer Advisor, McCarthy Tétrault LLP Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll

A recent BC Court of Appeal decision is a good reminder and summary of the principles underlying an employee’s duty to mitigate following a wrongful dismissal, and confirms that post-termination income in excess of supplementary income that an employee has earned while employed is properly deducted from a wrongful dismissal damages award.

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Three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk

February 15, 2018 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Source Deductions and Reporting

The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with the interpretation and enforceability of termination clauses, changes and improvements to services, benefits and credits for Canadians for the new tax filing season and improved ways for businesses to meet their reporting obligations.

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Wal-Mart employee awarded $250,000 in moral damages and $500,000 in punitive damages

February 13, 2018 Doug MacLeod, MacLeod Law Firm Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Recruiting and Hiring

Wal-Mart was found to have breached its duty as it was trying to find a new position for Ms. Galea. I don’t know if this case will turn out to be an outlier, but in the meantime employers should be very careful when dealing with an employee who is between jobs within the organization.

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Employee awarded 12 months’ pay and $24k in legal fees from employer who undermined her efforts to find new employment

February 12, 2018 De Bousquet PC Barristers and Solicitors Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Recruiting and Hiring

In a recent case titled Ste-Croix v. Al-Hashimi and Jawad Dentistry, following a termination without cause the Ontario Superior Court of Justice canvassed what constitutes “reasonable notice” and the factors the court will consider, what comprises reasonable efforts to mitigate damages, and when a motion for summary judgment is preferable to an unnecessary trial.

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Ontario Court of Appeal enforces simple probation clause

August 24, 2017 Jeff Dutton, Dutton Employment Law Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Recruiting and Hiring, Wages and Compensation

Employers generally owe their employees common law reasonable notice upon termination without cause. However, as shown in a recent Ontario Court of Appeal case, Nagribianko v. Select Wine Merchants Ltd, if the parties agree to a probation period in an employment contract, the right to common law reasonable notice can be ousted if the employee is terminated within the probationary period.

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Three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk

August 24, 2017 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation

The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with: an employer who wrongly relied on probation clause to retract offer of employment, a recent Conference Board of Canada report that shows employees are struggling to balance work and eldercare, and protecting your right as an employer to impose temporary layoffs.

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Three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk

September 15, 2016 Cristina Lavecchia Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Wages and Compensation

The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with: a matter that looks at just cause for dismissal; a claim of discrimination in relation to cessation of benefits upon turning the age 65; and claims that address bonus payments on termination.

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Three of the most popular articles this week on HRinfodesk

May 1, 2014 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Penalties and Fines, Privacy and Security, Wages and Compensation

Three of the most popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with employment standards proactive inspections; disclosure under privacy law; and severance entitlements.

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Managing risk in not-for-cause employee terminations

April 22, 2014 Marcia Scheffler Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Wages and Compensation

My Human Resources college professors used to ask students on a regular basis when it was OK for employers to terminate employees without cause. The answer, in theory, is that the employer can terminate an employee at any time! However…

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Preventing an employee from working during working notice can be constructive dismissal

April 7, 2014 Alison J. Bird Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Wages and Compensation

In Allen v Ainsworth Lumber Co Ltd, 2013 BCCA 271, the British Columbia Court of Appeal upheld a lower court decision which held that an employer’s refusal to allow an employee to work during a purported “working notice” period constituted constructive dismissal.

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Employers may be able to rely upon after-acquired cause

March 7, 2014 Rudner Law, Employment / HR Law & Mediation Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll

Although I have been known to reassure employers that “just cause is not a lost cause”, it is fair to say that the threshold for establishing that summary dismissal is warranted is a difficult one to meet in most circumstances. One question that often arises is what an employer is to do when they only learned of reasons for dismissal after the dismissal has already taken place. This can occur in situations where an employee was dismissed on a without cause basis, or in situations where the termination was for cause. Either way, the issue is what an employer can do with subsequently obtained information, which is typically referred to as “after-acquired cause”.

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