We are signing off with a list of the top 10 most read First Reference Talks posts 2016.
Human rights issues and rules for termination notice seem to have been hot topics this year with several blog posts on the topics making it on the list.
The top 10 most read First Reference Talks posts 2016
- New limits on criminal records checks, Stringer LLP
- EI waiting period changes January 1, 2017, Michele Glassford
- Federal or provincial? Understanding employment and labour law jurisdiction for First Nations employers, Vey Willetts LLP
- Commission sales employees: Two common errors to avoid, Vey Willetts LLP
- Working through the notice period, Stuart Rudner
- Beware of the one month per year of service “rule”, part 4, Alison J. Bird
- Yes your employees may be legally entitled to time off work to watch their kids, even if they give you no advance notice, Employer Advisor, McCarthy Tétrault LLP
- Maciel vs. Fashion Coiffures: pregnancy and employer’s continued obligation under the “Code”, Kevin Sambrano
- “Age is an impediment”: Fair severance for older employees in Ontario, Vey Willetts LLP
- HR lessons from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Clear Path Employer Services
Holiday break
The holidays are upon us and it is time to take a well deserved break. Please note that we will not be blogging during the holiday season from Friday December 23, 2016 at noon, to Monday January 2, 2017, inclusive. Our bloggers will resume sharing with you, their expertise and interesting developments in the world of HR, employment law, privacy, accessibility and payroll on Tuesday January 3, 2017.
We also would like to take the time to thank our regular and occasional bloggers for their valuable contributions to the First Reference Talks blog. We could not have done it without them. In addition, thanks to our loyal readership for making this blog a success.
Season’s greetings
In the spirit of giving this holiday season, First Reference Inc. has made a donation to Leaf. Their website, leaf.ca, indicates that they have been working since 1985 for the advancement of the equality of rights of Canadian women and girls.
“LEAF focuses on litigation, law reform and public education, primarily the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, most notably section 15 and 28, to challenge laws, policies and practices that discriminate against women. Our cases have resulted in landmark victories in preventing violence against women, eliminating discrimination in the workplace, allowing access to reproductive freedoms, and providing better maternity benefits, better spousal support and a right to pay equity. Section 15 rights and the Charter in general have been tested, and strengthened, through the advocacy work of LEAF.”
Our regular guest bloggers and the Staff at First Reference wishes everyone a very Happy Holiday Season and all the best for the New Year/Nos blogeures et l’Équipe de La Référence vous souhaite de belles fêtes et une bonne et heureuse année.
See you in 2017!
- First Reference annual holiday donation, season’s greetings, and holiday break - December 22, 2023
- Top 10+ First Reference Talks blog posts for 2023 - December 22, 2023
- A new version of form T3010 is coming in January 2024 - November 24, 2023
Yosie Saint-Cyr says
Profit Sharing is an arrangement between an employer and an employee in which the employer shares part of its profits with the employee. The key difference between a bonus and profit sharing is that there must be profit before any is shared with the employee. As payment under a profit sharing plan, employees can be given stocks or bonds, or cash (cash profit sharing plan). If the profit-sharing dollars are part of an employee’s retirement plan (deferred profit sharing plan), they are received at retirement rather than now, and depending on the retirement plan they may be tax-deductible. There can be eligibility requirements for profit-sharing plans. For example, the employee may be required to work for the company for a certain period of time before he or she can partake in profit-sharing.
This said, a profit sharing plan even if discretionary or not, is considered under the duty of good faith at termination, and will depend on the employer’s bonus plan and practices. In a recent case, Mr. Justice Ricchetti of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice held that section 61(1)(a) of the Employment Standards Act “permits the employer to terminate without notice but only if the employee receives what the employee would otherwise been entitled to receive from the employer under the terms and conditions of employment during the statutory notice.”
It found that even if the profit sharing plan was deemed discretionary, the court said that if a bonus has been declared, the employer has no discretion to exclude a particular employee from entitlement. As such, all employees who were employed in the period of time in question (even if it is during a notice period), are entitled to the profit-sharing bonus. Because that date was within the employee’s four-week Employment Standards Act notice period, the employee was deemed to be “employed” at that time, and was thus entitled to the profit sharing bonus payment. An employer memo, issued a few months earlier, to the effect that only “active” employees were entitled to the bonus, did not override the statutory obligation to pay the bonus to the employee. The case is Sandhu v. Solutions 2 go Inc., 2012 ONSC 2073 (CanLII)
jim anderson says
Hi Yosie … Would a profit sharing bonus be considered in the same category as discretionary bonus when considered under the duty of good faith in a termination, and, does it apply in a resignation ? In other words if a profit sharing bonus is accrued month by month but not paid until lets say December, are employees who are terminated and thipise who resigned entitled to some portion of that profit sharing bonus. Is there specific Ontario legislation that addresses this ??
Thank you
Jim