Tag archives: employer’s liability

The dangerous combination of the right to disconnect and the concept of on call-duty

By Laure Joncour on September 17, 2018 Posted in Europe, France, General

French law implemented in 2017 the “right to disconnect” from digital tools, requiring employers to limit employees’ use of digital tools outside of office hours. The purpose of this legislation is to protect the employees’ work-life balance and their right to rest periods. The law did not provide details of how employers should implement the … Continue reading

Tort liability: other grounds for bringing actions against a parent company in French employment litigation

By Marie-Thérèse Eugénio on July 12, 2018 Posted in Europe, France

It is a fact of life in French employer-employee relations that employees have no hesitation in bringing actions against their employer, in particular following termination of an employment, and that litigation is therefore not just a virtual weapon. Not only do employees sue their employer but, where the employer is a part of a group … Continue reading

Issues of employment status: pseudo self-employment and hidden personnel leasing in Germany

By Pia Popp on June 6, 2018 Posted in Europe, Germany

German labour law follows the “all or nothing” principle: Labour law regulations presume an existing employment relationship between employer and employee. If no such relationship exists, protective labour law regulations cannot be applied (with a few exceptions e.g. in the case of managing directors of a “GmbH” (limited company)). Assessing whether an employment relationship exists … Continue reading

Criminal Finances Act 2017 – Employers liability

By Amanda Sanders on October 3, 2017 Posted in UK, Whistleblowing

The Criminal Finances Act 2017 came into force in the UK on 30 September 2017. It introduces new corporate criminal offences of failing to prevent an employee, agent or any other person who is performing services for the organisation from criminally facilitating the evasion of tax, whether the tax is owed in the UK or in … Continue reading

Significant changes to French employment code to enter into force no later than January 1st, 2018

By Elodie Grangier on October 2, 2017 Posted in Contracts, Europe, France

French President Emmanuel Macron has signed five ordinances making important changes to several aspects of the French employment code. The ordinances, which were immediately published in the French Official Journal on September 23rd, 2017, are aimed in particular at providing employers more flexibility and predictability in labour-management relations. Several provisions of this ambitious reform – … Continue reading

Mitigation Income and Wrongful Dismissal Damages – The Court of Appeal Muddies the Waters

By Jennifer Hodgins on July 18, 2017 Posted in Canada

The Wrongful Dismissal – What Happened? Esther Brake worked for McDonald’s for over twenty-five years, first in Cornerbrook, Newfoundland, and then as a restaurant manager in Ottawa. She had received nothing but excellent reviews for years, but in 2011 she was suddenly told her performance was inadequate and that she had two options: accept a … Continue reading

What French employers must do in case of heatwave?

By Elodie Grangier and Camille Chabrolin on July 3, 2017 Posted in Europe, France

Summer is coming and temperatures are rising and may become unbearable, especially for these employees working outdoors / performing manual labour. Too much warmth can affect employees and can cause exhaustion, headache, fainting, or dehydration. Therefore the impact on employees’ health can be significant. From a French employment law perspective, employers have a very general … Continue reading

Le devoir de vigilance : une obligation renforcée

By Elodie Grangier on April 3, 2017 Posted in Contracts, Europe, France

L’obligation de vigilance est une obligation faite aux entreprises de prévenir les risques sociaux, environnementaux et de gouvernance lié à leurs activités. La loi du 27 mars 2017 relative au devoir de vigilance des sociétés mères et des entreprises donneuses d’ordre, publiée le 28 mars 2017 au Journal Officiel, renforce l’obligation de vigilance. Le devoir … Continue reading

A new duty of care for the most significant companies in France

By Elodie Grangier on April 3, 2017 Posted in Contracts, Europe, France

The duty of care is an obligation for companies to prevent social, environmental and governance risks related to their activities. A very recent law published on 28th March 2017 has reinforced such duty of care. The duty of care concerns French companies employing, at the end of 2 consecutive fiscal years, at least 5,000 employees … Continue reading

When an employer hides another employer

By Elodie Grangier and Pauline Disdier on March 20, 2017 Posted in Europe, France

Dual employment is a sensitive subject in French employment law as it enables employees to raise claims against a different employer from that with which the employment contract was signed. The matrix-type organisation of groups of companies, which has become the rule, can have adverse consequences if employees have the feeling that they are employed … Continue reading

New protection of French whistleblowers under the Sapin II Law

By Elodie Grangier on February 3, 2017 Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, France, Whistleblowing

Much attention was focused recently on President Obama’s decision, in the final days of his presidency, on commuting the sentence of Chelsea Manning, who provided certain classified information to WikiLeaks. In France, new legislation has recently been passed and implemented harmonizing the protection of whistleblowing employees (https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do;jsessionid=4BBFD240827AF0FD9A6340FF254E6F1B.tpdila21v_3?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000033558528&categorieLien=id). Who is concerned? Under the new regulation, whistleblowers … Continue reading

Ontario Court of Appeal rules on the Duty to Mitigate in Howard v. Benson Group

By John Mastoras on September 19, 2016 Posted in Canada

The Ontario Court of Appeal recently considered the common law principles of reasonable notice and the duty to mitigate in the context of fixed-term employment contracts in Howard v Benson Group Inc. Howard, the plaintiff, was employed at an automotive service centre pursuant to a five-year fixed term contract. He was terminated without cause around … Continue reading

Second Circuit’s decision expands liability for discrimination under “cat’s paw” doctrine

By Samantha Beltre (US) on September 14, 2016 Posted in Discrimination and harassment, United States

You may be familiar with the Aesop fable in which a monkey convinces a naïve cat to burn his paw in order to pull chestnuts from a hot fire for their mutual satisfaction but then eats all the chestnuts himself. This “cat’s paw” doctrine, as it has been coined in employment litigation, has been applied … Continue reading

Improper Comments on Social Networks: A Serious Cause Justifying Dismissal?

By Caroline Jodoin on August 1, 2016 Posted in Québec

The employment contract of a “Montreal Impact Academy’s U14” team coach was recently terminated as he made racist comments on his private Facebook page following the defeat of France against Portugal in the Euro 2016 final. In a news release, the Montreal Impact shortly dissociated itself from these comments, considering that they were totally unacceptable … Continue reading

To what extent can employers be held vicariously liable for the acts of their employees and others in France?

By Judicaël Fouquet on May 10, 2016 Posted in Europe, France

The issue of the liability the employers can face as a result of the acts and/or omissions of their employees is a recurring aspect of employee management in France. There are no specific employment rules per se governing the extent to which the employers can be held vicariously liable for the acts of their employees. … Continue reading

To what extent can employers be held vicariously liable for the acts of their employees?

By on May 3, 2016 Posted in Europe, General, Germany

This post was also contributed by Ebru Tirel, Trainee, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (Munich). Imagine a forklift truck driver damaging the car of a customer of the employer, resulting in a loss of EUR 200,000. Who will be liable for the damage? Generally speaking, of course, the employee is directly liable for the damage caused by … Continue reading

Vicarious Liability – When does it arise?

By Amanda Sanders on March 10, 2016 Posted in Europe, UK

Two recent decisions of the UK Supreme Court have considered the doctrine of vicarious liability and effectively extended it to a wider range of circumstances. In the UK an employer can be held liable for the tortious acts committed by an employee in the course of their employment. Courts will consider whether there is a … Continue reading

Practical Implications of Bhasin: Good Faith in Exercising Discretionary Power

By William J. Armstrong on March 4, 2016 Posted in Canada

Since Bhasin v Hrynew, 2014 SCC 71, courts have been applying the “organizing principle” of good faith in all contractual relationships thereby delinating its scope in different cirucmstances. One recent decision applying this principle addressess the circumstances where an employer excercises a discretionary contractual right to effectively deny an employee his compensation under a benefits … Continue reading

What protection do employees have against race discrimination in Germany?

By Wiebke Mattern on February 29, 2016 Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, Germany

Due to the large number of refugees now living in Germany, protection against race discrimination has recently become an issue of greater importance. Under the German Anti-Discrimination-Act, which is derived from European directives, all employees in Germany, including apprentices and job applicants, are legally protected against discrimination on grounds of race or ethnic origin. In … Continue reading

Go-Karting Gone Awry in Ontario – Paid Volunteer can still sue Race Track for injuries

By Gabriel Granatstein on February 13, 2016 Posted in Canada

In what may be considered a particularly rare occasion, the Ontario Court of Appeal has addressed an employment law issue in the context of Go-Kart racing. In this case, the appellant volunteered to be a “race director” for a Go-Kart race, for which he received a small stipend. When a Go-Kart driver crashed into hay … Continue reading

What are the employment implications of the transfer of a business?

By Amanda Sanders on December 3, 2015 Posted in Europe, UK

In the UK where a business is transferred from one economic entity to another then the employees will be protected by the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (the TUPE Regulations) The effect of the TUPE Regulations is to preserve the continuity of employment and terms and conditions of those employees who are … Continue reading

Ontario Ministry of Labour targets unpaid internships in its latest blitz

By Gabriel Granatstein on October 21, 2015 Posted in Canada

The Ontario Ministry of Labour (“MOL”) recently announced that it is undertaking an enforcement blitz focusing on unpaid internships. Between now and December 31, 2015, employment standards officers from the MOL will be visiting workplaces that have internship programs to ensure compliance with the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA” or “the Act”). In particular, the … Continue reading

The deeper meaning behind Abercrombie besides failing to ask about an accommodation

By Mario Barrera (US) and Stephen Romero (US) on July 1, 2015 Posted in Discrimination and harassment, United States

As widely reported in its recent EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc. decision, the United States Supreme Court held that employers cannot lawfully refuse to hire an applicant if the decision was motivated by the employer’s unwillingness to provide the applicant with an accommodation the applicant needs for religious reasons. However, in so holding, … Continue reading

Uber drivers found to be employees in California: Canadian provinces to follow?

By Gabriel Granatstein on June 26, 2015 Posted in Canada, Contracts

A recent decision from the California Labour Commission (the Commission) has held that drivers from the popular Uber service are employees and not independent contractors. This decision has sparked public interest as its implications could bring trouble for the successful mobile-based start-up. In coming down on the side of the drivers, the Commission concluded that … Continue reading