Tag archives: termination

(Just) Cause for Concern? Ontario Divisional Court weighs in on enforceability of “for cause” termination provisions

Photo of Samantha CassBy Samantha Cass on Posted in Canada, North America
The Ontario Divisional Court recently dismissed the employer’s appeal in Lamontagne v JL Richards & Associates Limited (Lamontagne)[1], adding an appellate lens to the body of case law addressing the enforceability of “for cause” termination provisions in employment contracts.[2] In Lamontagne, the employer terminated the applicant’s employment without cause after 6.25 years. The applicable employment … Continue reading

Disciplinary procedure: a preliminary meeting may be necessary before issuing an official written warning to an employee

Photo of Laure JoncourBy Laure Joncour on Posted in Europe, France, General
Disciplinary procedures are strictly regulated under French employment law. However, when an employer issues an official written warning to an employee because he has committed an act of misconduct, the employer can, in principle, be less formal. Unless the Collective Bargaining Agreement applicable to the company sets out any specific obligation, it is sufficient for … Continue reading

Fausses déclarations sur le questionnaire des symptômes de la COVID 19 : peine capitale confirmée en arbitrage

Photo of Ione Deda AlvesBy Ione Deda Alves on Posted in Canada, Québec
Dans une décision rendue le 21 décembre 2020, l’une des premières en la matière au Québec, un arbitre confirme le congédiement d’une salariée pour avoir fait défaut de répondre honnêtement au questionnaire des symptômes de la COVID‑19 imposé par l’employeur au début de chaque journée de travail. Les faits de cette affaire L’employeur, une entreprise … Continue reading

Rupture conventionnelle : les pièges à éviter

Photo of Laure JoncourBy Laure Joncour on Posted in France
La rupture conventionnelle a connu un grand succès tout au long de ces dernières années. Il est vrai qu’elle allie facilité d’utilisation tout en assurant une sécurité juridique et financière au salarié qui souhaite quitter son emploi. La rupture conventionnelle consiste en une rupture amiable du contrat entre le salarié et son employeur tout en … Continue reading

Détenir un motif sérieux de congédiement ne cautionne pas tout comportement – Rappel de savoir-vivre pour les employeurs québécois

Photo of Xavier HamelBy Xavier Hamel on Posted in Canada, Québec
Le 10 août dernier, la Cour d’appel dans l’affaire Carignan c. Maison Carignan Inc.[1] rendait une décision dans laquelle elle conclut à un abus de droit de l’employeur dans l’exercice de son droit de congédier l’un de ses employés. Quels sont les faits de cette affaire? D’abord suspendu avec solde pour les fins d’une enquête, … Continue reading

Licenciements collectifs : considérations pratiques pour les employeurs québécois

Photo of Andréanne BrosseauBy Andréanne Brosseau on Posted in Canada, Coronavirus, Québec
Dernièrement, dans le contexte de la COVID-19, certaines entreprises se sont vues contraintes de cesser temporairement ou de réduire substantiellement leurs activités, entraînant ainsi nombre de mises à pied. Alors que des économistes prévoient un ralentissement économique important en raison de la pandémie, les employeurs québécois peuvent légitimement se demander s’ils seront en mesure de … Continue reading

Comment faire face au Coronavirus en France?

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in Coronavirus, Europe, France, General
Depuis le mois de janvier 2020, l’épidémie de Coronavirus COVID-19 s’est rapidement propagée à travers le monde, causant des milliers de décès. Le Gouvernement français a réagi en plusieurs temps : après avoir émis des recommandations en matière de gestes barrière, il a ensuite pris la décision de fermer écoles et établissements accueillant des enfants, puis … Continue reading

An employee’s higher pay during notice period won’t retroactively mitigate earlier damages

Photo of John SchudloBy John Schudlo on Posted in Canada
The Divisional Court recently released a decision that helps to clarify the law on mitigation of damages in wrongful dismissal cases. The Court held that if a dismissed employee gets a new job during his or her notice period that pays more than the employee’s previous job, the employee’s surplus earnings can’t serve to reduce … Continue reading

France: Le harcèlement sexuel susceptible d’être exclu en cas d’attitude ambigüe de la victime

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in Contracts, Discrimination and harassment, Europe, France
Le harcèlement sexuel est défini, dans le Code du travail, par « des propos ou comportements à connotation sexuelle répétés qui soit portent atteinte à [la] dignité [du salarié] en raison de leur caractère dégradant ou humiliant, soit créent à son encontre une situation intimidante, hostile ou offensante ». Le Code du travail prévoit également une … Continue reading

France: Provocative acts do not necessarily fall within the scope of sexual harassment if the victim’s behaviour is ambiguous

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in Contracts, Discrimination and harassment, Europe, France
The French employment Code defines sexual harassment as “repeated sexual comments or conduct that either violate the [employee’s] dignity because of their degrading or humiliating nature or create an intimidating, hostile or offensive situation against the employee“. The French employment Code also assimilates to sexual harassment “any form of serious pressure, even non-repeated, exercised for … Continue reading

France: The complex consequences of the occurrence of gross misconduct during the notice period

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in Contracts, Europe, France
The general rule under French law is that when employment contracts are terminated, employees are entitled to a prior notice period, the length of which depends on the status of the employee (executive or non-executive), their length of service, and in some cases their age. The applicable rules are generally set by the sector-wide collective … Continue reading

Plafonnement des dommages intérêts en cas de licenciement injustifié : la rébellion se poursuit

Photo of Laure JoncourBy Laure Joncour on Posted in France
La Cour de cassation vient de déclarer conforme aux engagements internationaux de la France, le « barème Macron » qui plafonne les indemnités attribuées par un juge en cas de licenciement sans cause réelle et sérieuse. Avant l’entrée en vigueur du « barème Macron », en cas de licenciement sans cause réelle et sérieuse , il appartenait au juge de fixer … Continue reading

The beginning of a revolution (by the French lower courts) ?

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in Contracts, Europe, France
French President Emmanuel Macron implemented a significant reform of the French employment code in late 2017, with the intention of providing employers greater flexibility and predictability in managing labour relations. One of the most controversial measures was the creation of a grid applicable to the amount of indemnities due to employees for unfair dismissal, setting … Continue reading

Singapore: “Watershed” Amendments to Employment Legislation

Photo of Mathias GohBy Mathias Goh on Posted in Asia Pacific, Singapore
Singapore’s employment laws are set to undergo watershed changes come April 2019. In summary, a greater number of employees – in particular, professionals, managers and executives (“PMEs”) – will soon be able to avail themselves of the statutory protections contained in Singapore’s Employment Act, the key employment legislation in Singapore. The single most significant legislative … Continue reading

Do managers typically think of personal liability when making decisions to dismiss? They perhaps should

Photo of Paul Griffin (UK)By Paul Griffin (UK) on Posted in General, UK, Whistleblowing
Directors and senior managers and their employers should consider the recent Court of Appeal decision in the Osipov whistleblowing case very carefully. Briefly, by way of scene-setting, Osipov had made a series of protected disclosures and he was ultimately dismissed as CEO of the employer company pursuant to a decision of two non-executive directors (NEDS) … Continue reading

Italian Constitutional Court partially repeals Jobs Act rules – What’s next?

Photo of Attilio PavoneBy Attilio Pavone on Posted in General
The Italian Constitutional Court (the “Court”) has partially repealed the “Jobs Act” reform of 2015 that introduced, among other things, a predictable calculation criteria for the monetary compensation to be paid in case of unlawful dismissal (2 months’ salary for each year of service, with a minimum threshold and a maximum cap). The full decision … Continue reading

Dismissal for misconduct cannot be based (solely) on anonymous reports

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in Contracts, Discrimination and harassment, Europe, France, Whistleblowing
Anonymous reports have been mistrusted for a number of years in France, for historical reasons. While anonymity enables individuals to raise their voice more openly, without being the targets of retaliation measures, it can also drift into slander. This explains a specificity of French law under which whistleblowers using ethicals lines are strongly encouraged to … Continue reading

Can a dismissal letter be signed by an individual belonging to a holding entity?

Photo of Marie-Thérèse EugénioBy Marie-Thérèse Eugénio on Posted in Europe, France
Dismissal procedures are highly regulated in France including with respect to the identity of the individual who is entitled to conduct the procedure and sign the dismissal letter; such person must -by definition- be the “employer” .  However, some flexibility has been introduced over the years by French case law, and a recent decision of … Continue reading

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

Photo of Marie-Thérèse EugénioBy Marie-Thérèse Eugénio on 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

Employees’ freedom of speech on the Internet is not without boundaries

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in Europe, France
Books, hotels, restaurants, products: you can find reviews and rating websites for just about everything on the internet – even employers. However, employees posting internet reviews of their employer should be careful and measured in what they say, or risk being subjected to disciplinary measures  – or even dismissal – if they abuse their freedom … Continue reading

Lack of probity may provide grounds for dismissal for serious misconduct

Global Workplace InsiderPhoto of François GuillonBy Elodie Grangier and François Guillon on Posted in Europe, France
French employment courts generally subject alleged reasons for employee dismissal to close scrutiny, particularly where dismissals are based on a breach of the duty of loyalty or of probity. Such breaches only constitute valid grounds for dismissal if they are genuine and rely on objective facts and behaviour which are attributable to the employee concerned. … Continue reading

The fairness of a misconduct dismissal

Photo of Amanda Sanders (UK)By Amanda Sanders (UK) on Posted in UK
A recent case has considered whether a school was entitled to summarily dismiss a head teacher for her failure to disclose a personal relationship with a convicted sex offender. In the case of Reilly v Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council Mrs Reilly was dismissed after she failed to disclose her friendship with a convicted sex offender, … Continue reading
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