written contract

Contracts and employment agreements

July 6, 2016 Rubin Thomlinson 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

All employment relationships in Ontario are deemed to be contractual, whether or not a written contract is in place between the parties. When there is no written contract, the common law (judge-made law) imports a number of obligations into the contract that will bind the employer and the employee.

commission plans, common law, conflicts of interest, copyright of works, duty to act fairly, employee benefit plans, employment agreement, employment law, employment relationships, incentive compensation plans, intellectual property rights, judge-made law, non-competition, non-solicitation, pension plans, reasonable notice, restrictive covenants, right to discipline, right to terminate, safe work environment, termination, written contract

Motion for summary judgement raises questions about efficiency of pre-trial resolution

June 9, 2016 Simon Heath, BA, MIR, LLB, Heath Law Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Wages and Compensation

Employment lawyers will advise you that a motion for summary judgement can be expensive to lose. Not only does the company have to pay the judgement, the company will have to pay the costs of its own counsel and part of the costs of the employee’s counsel. Therefore, there is pressure on the company to offer a suitable severance package to negotiate a settlement rather than leave it to a court to decide with the cost consequences that follow.

common law notice, employment contract, employment law, failure to mitigate, negotiated settlement, not-for-cause termination, outplacement services, salary continuance, suitable severance package, summary judgement, termination, written contract, written termination clauses

Danger ahead: Beware of changes to employment agreements

September 17, 2015 Occasional Contributors Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring, Wages and Compensation

To appreciate the dangers of varying employment terms, we must start with the foundations of contract law. First, a contract requires that each party receive a benefit (consideration). Second, if the parties agree to a variation of contract, but consideration is not received by both parties, Courts will consider the new contract an “unenforceable unilateral variation”. Third…

compensation, constructive dismissal, employment agreements, employment contact, employment law, employment relationships, health benefits, notice period prior to termination, Pensions and Benefits, providing reasonable notice or pay in lieu thereof, Termination clause, Termination provisions, terms of employment, unilateral change of contract, vacation pay, written contract, wrongful dismissal