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Reasonable Notice Articles
A bit of bad faith can go a long way
After putting in many long hours of hard work as a machinist for food packaging supplier Packall Packing, all Roland Carter wanted to do was take a four-day vacation. But when Carter filled his name under the wrong day off in the company’s vacation planner, his vacation became more than just a long weekend — he was fired and out of work for nearly two years. ...[read more]
A recipe for severance - Courts will consider a variety of factors
Seldom is severance pay based on arithmetic. Courts do not follow any defined rules in calculating how much severance to pay to a particular employee. Neither does your ex-employer. Rather, a judge’s task is to consider all of the circumstances that either hinder or help a dismissed employee to find a new job. I am familiar with over 100 factors relevant to this determination. However, rarely will that many issues compete in any one case. More typically, there are four or five factors that are always more often considered than others...[read more]
A recipe for the recently dismissed: 4 sure-fire ways to receive appropriate severance
Terminations are psychologically and financially difficult. Therefore, I offer the following four tips to the recently departed. If nothing else, following my advice ought to ensure an appropriate severance package, if not more....[read more]
Anything goes in employment contracts
Unfortunately for employees, the law provides few safeguards regarding what can and cannot be agreed to as a term of employment. As well, with the recent shift downwards in unemployment rates, employers have had to adapt, minimizing the risks of hiring transitory employees by proposing contracts loaded with language to protect them at every opportunity. Employees should beware of the following six most dangerous terms, now appearing in more employment contracts – and court dockets...[read more]
Anything goes in employment contracts - Beware of dangerous terms
When it comes to employment contracts, all is fair in love and war, as pretty much anything can be incorporated into the deal. Employees should, therefore, beware of the following terms....[read more]
Beware of employment contracts
It’s possibly the worst fraud in workplace law – corporations, with expensive lawyers and deeper pockets, insisting that employees sign one-sided contracts that reduce their legal rights. And employees, without bargaining power or an understanding of the law, not realizing their interests have been undermined....[read more]
Blunder dismissal and pay the price
Despite having just lost her job, Kelly Stowar must have been elated. As an administrative employee, Stowar was not entitled to more than a few weeks' severance. Instead, however, she was given a letter by her former employer, Telehop Communications, stating that she would be paid five months' salary. Stowar signed her name on the space provided, indicating she was satisfied with the contents of the letter, and left the Toronto area office to go home.
A few days after signing the letter, Stowar returned to Telehop's office to return some of the company's property that she still had. She was met by Telehop's human resources manager and called into a meeting. Stowar was told that the company had made a "mistake" and that she would only be receiving three weeks' termination pay, not the five months that she was initially offered. She was then asked to sign a release, indicating that she agreed with the revised offer. Stowar refused, claiming she had agreed to a deal for five months' pay just days earlier.
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Constructive Dismissal Proves Costly
Sometimes, serious changes to your job may have to be accepted. Just ask David Chapman. Working his way up the Bank of Nova Scotia’s corporate ladder for 36 years, Chapman resigned claiming a reduction in his salary and the Bank’s failure to honour a promise amounted to his termination. The Court decided otherwise. ...[read more]
Court rules in favour of employee induced to leave her job
- Promises of "dream team" lead to additional damages
Routine may be agreeable – but think twice before trading routine for the temptation of change. A “lifer” of the auto sales industry, after working at a series of dealerships, fifty-seven year old Janet Deplance had finally found her home. For ten years, Deplance prospered as a business manager for Gemini Ford in Hamilton, Ontario, believing it would be her last stop until she retired....[read more]
Court’s judgment a sign of the times
Employers cannot adapt to new economic constraints at the expense of fundamental employee rights....[read more]
Employee Bonuses
Employees don't always get the bonus they deserve.Seldom will this amount to a successful lawsuit.
Veteran investment banker Kenneth Mathieson was well rewar ded in his good years. In 2005, he earned a bonus of $1.1 million. However, when his employer, Scotia Capital, decided that he deserved only $360,000 in 2006 - the lowest bonus he had ever received - Mathieson believed the bank was attempting to force his resignation. He wasn't about to go quietly....[read more]
Employees can be sued for wrongful resignation
Employees and employers make all types of wrong assumptions about the law. Seldom do their "perceived" rights exist. Often they rely on rules that have long been rejected by the courts and legal doctrines that are now invalid. Sometimes they are just steered wrong by their lawyers.
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Employees must read the fine print
It’s possibly the worst fraud in workplace law – Corporations, with expensive lawyers and deeper pockets, convincing employees to sign one-sided contracts that reduce their legal rights. And employees, without bargaining power or an understanding of the law, not realizing their interests have been undermined....[read more]
Employment contract may cause later problem
Recently, I was consulted by an employee who was terminated after 10 years of faithful service. Given her tenure and responsibilities, she would have been entitled to a substantial termination package, but she had signed an employment contract that limited her termination payments to a much smaller amount....[read more]
Employment Contracts Should be Reviewed
It never ceases to amaze me how just a little bit of foresight can go a very long way. Employees often bemoan the fact that they have little understanding of the employment contracts they are asked to sign. Such contracts are usually inundated with legal phraseology. But entice a soon-to-be employee with prospects of job security and many people will just sign their name unaware of the consequences that may arise down the road. ...[read more]
Employment Law Basics
Most employees cling to beliefs about workplace rights they gleaned from media, friends or researching on the Internet. But many of these "perceived" rights often do not exist. Here are some of my favourite misconceptions....[read more]
Harassed employees are no longer without remedy
Workplace abuse may have been obvious, but rarely did it amount to a paid vacation. Employees faced with a workplace abuser used to visit their doctor for a prescription or a note authorizing a leave of absence. Except in extraordinary cases, employees were bereft of a legal remedy, as courts had little appetite for walking into the workplace and ordering bosses to be nicer to their employees. The reality for most: either leave - or lose - your job. ...[read more]
Harassment free workplaces
Employers slow to catch on the pitfalls of employees who are abused or bullied by their bosses are now singing the bad boss blues. ...[read more]
Have you been wrongfully dismissed?
Here are seven questions to ask yourself if you’ve recently been dismissed....[read more]
How to calculate severance pay
With 71,000 Canadian jobs having vanished in the month of November alone, tales of mass restructuring have moved from this column’s coverage to the front pages of the news. The question I’m most frequently asked now is, what should employees expect if they lose their job and what can they do to protect themselves. Here are the rules of severance....[read more]
Inducement may lead to damages
Given big promises, offered big money and assured long-term job security, sales all-star Melissa Antidormi still wasn’t about to roll the dice with her career. But on the other hand, U.S-based Blue Pumpkin Software Inc. wasn’t about to take no for an answer. Blue Pumpkin spent its time and energy recruiting Antidormi for over a year and its persistence and persuasion finally paid off. In turn, Antidormi left a well paying and secure position to join Blue Pumpkin with promises that the sky was the limit and her job would be safe for years. But some promises are made to be broken. Citing financial reasons, Blue Pumpkin fired Antidormi 6 months after hiring her. In the end, the company spent more time pursuing her than it did employing her. ...[read more]
Job posting was unreasonable step, court rules
Believing that the posting of his job in the local news made it impossible for him to continue with his work, Patterson sued the company, arguing that the posting should be equated with his dismissal. Interestingly, an Ontario judge recently agreed....[read more]
Keep emotions in check if fired
In February, my client Dave was fired. He never saw it coming. "When I got to work, my boss and HR (department) asked to meet with me. I was told that the decision had been made to terminate my employment. I was shocked," he told me. " I was sent home in a cab and told my personal belongings would be shipped to me. I wasn't allowed to say goodbye to anyone." Dave had been employed as a sales agent with a large manufacturing company for five years and had felt his career was finally turning the corner....[read more]
Labelling employees as contractors doesn't necessarily make it so
Customs used to define Canadian employment law – not contracts. When there was a workplace dispute, judges would decide cases based on what was reasonable or just or what the parties would have agreed to if they had thought about the issue from the outset. Customs, however, have been replaced by comprehensive employment contracts and lawsuits for wrongful dismissal. Now, instead of being asked to consider what’s most reasonable or fair, judges are asked whether a contract applies and, if so, what its terms represent. But what happens when a contract doesn’t accurately portray the true nature of an employee’s job? As La-Z-Boy Canada Ltd. recently learned, sometimes employees are not bound by the agreements they have agreed to....[read more]
Laws of resignation may favour employees
Canadian employees have no right to severance pay if voluntarily leaving their job. They may claim this is unfair - but not so fast: the laws of resignation generally work in their favour. ...[read more]
Mistake resignation and pay the price
Following a confrontation with another employee, Barry Upcott stormed into the human resources office at work and suddenly proclaimed that he was finished at his job. When he then handed in his keys and swiftly left the premises his employer, Savaria Concord Lifts, believed that Upcott had resigned. ...[read more]
No such thing as a "free" consultation
People often get exactly what they pay for. This is as true in law as it is in life. Here is one story that should make employees pause when they are offered a "free" consultation with a lawyer.
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Performance Improvement Plans
Sometimes employees too easily confuse who gets to call the legal shots. Believing that their job is an entitlement, some workers try to take the law into their own hands. They are often mistaken. This is the tale of one employee who learned this lesson the hard way....[read more]
Reinstatement isn't an option for Canadian employees
Canadian employment law provides a buffet of remedies for an aggrieved employee to pick and choose from. As Mr. and Ms. Anil and Neerja Sharma learned, however, reinstatement isn’t currently offered on the menu. Anil and Neerja Sharma were fighting for their jobs and for their reputations. The couple had found their dream jobs as sales agents for Quadrus Investment Services, a subsidiary of London Life Insurance. Unfortunately for the Sharmas, their dreams came to an abrupt end when, under the cloud of a fraud investigation, they were suspended and then fired. ...[read more]
Salesman's contract a lemon: Judge
In Bradley Gallagher's case, a little bit of clarity would have gone a long way. Making ends meet selling used cars, Gallagher never paid much attention to the calculation of his commission payments. But in 2003, Gallagher's car dealership demanded that he sign a shady commission plan or face his immediate termination. Having refused, the dealership said he resigned. In the end, the judge said Gallagher was the one who was sold a lemon....[read more]
Signed documents will seldom be overturned
What results if a just-dismissed employee is essentially forced to sign a broad-ranging release, preventing him from taking further legal action? Does it matter if the employer took advantage of the employee’s personal problems, effectively “preying” on his concerns, and even threatening him by stating he would get nothing unless he signed his name? According to a recent Ontario judge, not much! ...[read more]
Silence may not always be golden
At the age of 66, Kathleen Fisher found herself in a pickle. Believing she was being forced to retire, she turned to her company president, Keith Andersen, looking for answers. Anderson may not have agreed – but he offered no solution. As a B.C. appeal court recently concluded in finding Fisher was dismissed: his silence spoke volumes....[read more]
Stating "I quit" doesn't always make it so
Upset after a meeting with her boss, Joey Bru said she was quitting. Believing that she had done just that, Bru's employer replaced her. But, according to a British Columbia judge, even when employees say they are leaving, they may not have actually quit....[read more]
Strategies for severance success
Since employees have no legal entitlement to continued employment, Canadian employers get to call all the shots. Aside from allegations of discrimination, an employee’s only job security exists in the form of advance notice of termination or pay in lieu of notice. ...[read more]
Suspensions Should be with Pay
FRI Corp wanted to teach marketing executive Christina Carscallen a lessen. But as FRI Corp learned, some lessons come with a very steep price. Angered by a botched trade show and a heated email exchange with her boss, FRI Corp chose to suspend Carscallen without pay. However, FRI Corp didn’t stop there. Carscallen was demoted, her flex hours withdrawn and just to rub a little salt in the wound, she was told she would have to share a cubicle with a subordinate. ...[read more]
Termination for Incompetence is a Difficult task to Prove
All-star Sales Manager, Jack Bogden didn’t know what to think. He had been a paradigm of achievement for Purolator Courier Ltd. and was praised by those who worked with him. But for Bogden’s boss, Pat Capparelli, the proof was in the pudding. Confusing excellence with mediocrity, Caparelli’s opinion of Bogden was nothing more than inconsistent. But when the Judge heard all the evidence, Caparelli was the only one that was found erratic. ...[read more]
The duty to mitigate: working for my former boss!
Until recently, it was generally proper for an employee to reject returning to the workplace that fired him. However, that all changed when the Supreme Court found that unless there are conditions such as humiliation, embarrassment or hostility, employees would be expected to return to their jobs....[read more]
The myth of 2 weeks' notice
One of the most frustrating aspects of my practice is that when advising employees about how much their termination package will be worth, everyone thinks they are an expert. Many times, my clients have been given poor advice from friends, neighbours, their real estate lawyers or anyone else purporting to know the law in this area. Fortunately, however, not all “experts” are created equal. ...[read more]
Ultimatum tantamount to dismissal
Summoned to his boss’s office, Stew Schwindt was handed a piece of paper that stated that he was resigning and told that it would be best to sign his name. Besieged, Schwindt scribbled his signature and then was immediately escorted off the premises of the Regina-based Canadian Tire franchise, where he had managed the service department for nearly a quarter of a century. But Schwindt had not agreed to retire and believed that his employer had acted improperly. Recently, a Saskatchewan judge resoundingly agreed. ...[read more]
Wallace Damages
Unfortunately, I’ve learned that we cannot always expect others to treat us fairly, reasonably and decently. But when it comes to being terminated from a job, employers are legally required to behave in such a manner. A 1997 Supreme Court of Canada decision — which is considered to be one of the most influential employment law decisions to date — established the standard requiring employers to treat employees with good faith and fair dealing at the time of their termination....[read more]
Warning signs will be clear - Job postings may be logical steps
Employers are becoming increasingly adept at covering their bases when dismissing employees. But with no legal entitlement to continued employment, no one is indispensable. Canadian employees may have little certainty these days – and less job security. Here are some signs that you are about to be fired that I have gleaned from my clients in the workplace trenches....[read more]
With appropriate notice, anything goes
Having the terms of your job forcibly changed is usually taboo. But the tables are turned when advance warning is provided. Most employees believe that their jobs can seldom be varied without their consent. As an Ontario judge recently confirmed, those employees are mistaken. ...[read more]
Workplace Law’s biggest misconceptions
Poor performance may be cause for dismissal....[read more]
Wrongful Dismissal not clear cut
Six factors to consider if you’ve recently been dismissed....[read more]