verbal agreement

Giving your ‘two weeks’: Jesso and what constitutes reasonable notice for resignation

March 24, 2016 Devry Smith Frank LLP Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Wages and Compensation

The question of ‘what constitutes reasonable notice’ is one of the most frequently litigated issues in employment law. There are numerous decisions from every level of court in Ontario which discuss the obligations of an employer to provide a reasonable period of notice to dismissed employees. However, it is a relatively rare occurrence that the Court deals with the inverse – the reasonable period of notice due to an employer by an employee who resigns. While most of us are familiar with the old adage of giving your ‘two weeks’ notice, the recent decision in Gagnon may call into question the sufficiency of such short notice.

damages, departing employee, duty of good faith, Employee resignation, employment contract, employment law, reasonable notice for resignation, verbal agreement

Agreement to sign an agreement

December 4, 2015 Rudner Law, Employment / HR Law & Mediation Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Wages and Compensation

The issue of whether termination clauses contained within employment agreements will be enforceable is one that routinely arises. As I have discussed on many occasions, many employers weaken their legal position by entering into a verbal agreement, or presenting an “offer letter”, and then subsequently asking their new employee to sign a far more detailed employment agreement that is designed solely for the benefit of the employer.

2000, binding agreement at law, commissions and benefits, employment agreements, employment contract, employment law, employment standards act, key terms of employment, offer letter, reasonable notice of termination at common law, salary, termination clauses, terms and conditions of employment, verbal agreement

Contract or gratuitous promise: the need for consideration

March 6, 2015 Rudner Law, Employment / HR Law & Mediation 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

Employment lawyers spend a lot of time assessing whether contracts of employment are enforceable or not. The first thing that I check, when I review a contract of employment, is the date. What I’m attempting to determine is whether the contract was signed before or after there was already a verbal agreement in place.

Compensation and benefits, contracts of employment, core terms of the agreement, difference between a binding contract and a gratuitous promise, employment contract, employment law, gratuitous promise, negotiate an agreement, offer of employment itself should be conditional upon the employee accepting all of the terms and conditions, reasonable notice of dismissal, recruiting process, terms and conditions in the written agreement, verbal agreement, “consideration" as being a requirement of a valid contract