Tag archives: termination

Signed on the Dotted Line in Time? The Court of Appeal addresses the timing of an employee’s execution of her employment contract.

Photo of Jennifer HodginsBy Jennifer Hodgins on Posted in Canada
Employers have long been advised to ensure that a new employee agrees to and executes his or her written employment contract before starting work. Otherwise, there is a risk that the employment contract will be held to be unenforceable on the basis that there was no “consideration” provided to the employee in exchange for entering … Continue reading

What is the latest on employees’ rights in the event of redundancy in France?

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier on Posted in Europe, France
Dismissing an employee due to economic difficulties is extremely delicate in France. A law dated 8th August 2016 has specified the definition of the economic grounds for dismissals, providing that economic difficulties are, in particular, characterized by a significant evolution of an indicator such as a significant drop of turnover, a significant drop in purchase … Continue reading

When an employer hides another employer

Global Workplace InsiderBy Elodie Grangier and Pauline Disdier on 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

Employer’s egregious conduct in the course of a dismissal attracts both moral damages and human rights damages

Photo of John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada
The Court of Appeal for Ontario has recently issued a decision that should serve as a stark reminder to employers to treat employees respectfully and in good faith throughout the termination process. Where an employer’s behaviour dips below a threshold level of decency during the course of a termination, the employer may find itself exposed … Continue reading

Dishonesty in Hiring Process Constitutes Cause for Dismissal

Photo of John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada
A recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has confirmed that, in certain scenarios, an employee’s dishonesty in the hiring process will constitute cause for dismissal. The defendant employer, Canada’s leading nuclear energy agency, is required to comply with government rules respecting site access security clearance.  As such, candidates for employment are required … Continue reading

Alberta employers kick-start 2017 with a big win in the Styles appeal

Photo of William J. ArmstrongBy William J. Armstrong on Posted in Canada
Following the SCC’s decision in Bhasin, there was uncertainty regarding the application of the common law duty to perform contractual obligations in good faith to the employment law context. The Court of Appeal of Alberta’s decision in Styles provides clarity on the application of Bhasin in the context of both termination and entitlement to bonuses … Continue reading

Recent changes to the law on the dismissal of severely disabled employees

Photo of Anja LingscheidBy Anja Lingscheid on Posted in Europe, Germany
In Germany, as of 1 January 2017, various amendments to the law on severely disabled persons came into force. Of particular importance is a new regulation relating to the dismissal of severely disabled employees. Until the recent changes came into force, before the dismissal of a severely disabled employee the representative body for severely disabled … Continue reading

Employers entitled to Reasonable Notice

Photo of Stéphane EricksonBy Stéphane Erickson on Posted in Canada
The B.C. Court of Appeal recently gave employers a much-needed reminder: they’re entitled to reasonable notice too. While most employees are familiar with the fact that they are entitled to reasonable notice if they’re terminated without cause, employers sometimes forget that the obligation works both ways. An employee cannot simply stop showing up to work … Continue reading

The Duty to Mitigate and its Impact on Damages

Photo of William J. ArmstrongBy William J. Armstrong on Posted in Canada
Employer clients often ask during a wrongful or constructive dismissal lawsuit what damages may be awarded.  One relevant consideration  is the common law duty to mitigate.  A wrongfully dismissed employee has a duty to mitigate his or her damages by attempting to find alternate employment.  The question of whether an employee has met his or … Continue reading

Quebec Labour Tribunal rules on decision to terminate a high paid employee

Photo of Andréane GiguèreBy Andréane Giguère on Posted in Québec
The Tribunal administratif du travail recently released Major c. Nova DM Média Canada inc., 2016 QCTAT 4423, which clarified an employer’s burden of proof to demonstrate that an employee was laid off as part of an administrative reorganization rather than dismissed not for good and sufficient cause. In this decision, administrative judge François Caron relied … Continue reading

Terminating an Employee for Voicing His Political Opinion : What Are The Potential Consequences?

Photo of Philippe BélisleBy Philippe Bélisle on Posted in Canada, Discrimination and harassment
Terminating an employee for expressing his political opinions at work can be costly for an employer. This is what  an employer learned after being ordered to pay 91 073,46 $ to an employee following his termination for sharing his political opinions in the workplace. In this decision (2015 QCCRT 0399), the « Commission des Relations du … Continue reading

Termination payments – proposed changes to tax and national insurance.

Photo of Amanda Sanders (UK)By Amanda Sanders (UK) on Posted in UK
The UK Government has published its response to a consultation on the taxation of termination payments. In 2015, the Government issued a consultation paper containing various different proposals for simplifying the regime. The paper published on 10 August is the Government response and also includes draft legislation for further consultation. Currently under UK legislation payments … Continue reading

An employer’s financial circumstances do not affect the reasonable notice period

Photo of John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada
Should an employer’s financial circumstances be relevant when considering the period of reasonable notice to which a wrongfully dismissed employee is entitled? This question was raised on appeal in Michela v St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic School, 2015 ONCA 801. As calculating the appropriate notice period is fact-specific, the argument that an employer’s financial circumstances … Continue reading

Wilson v. AECL – Generosity is Not Enough: Federally Regulated Employers Must Have Cause to Dismiss Non-Unionized Employees

Photo of Stéphane EricksonBy Stéphane Erickson on Posted in Canada
At common law, a non-unionized employee can be dismissed without reasons if he or she is given reasonable notice or pay in lieu.  Today, a majority of the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that this common law rule does not apply to federally regulated employers.  The Court ruled that federally regulated employers must always provide … Continue reading

Damages to the Reputation: A Serious Motive for Termination?

Photo of Caroline JodoinBy Caroline Jodoin on Posted in Québec
What constitutes a serious motive to terminate an employee under a fixed-term employment contract? Recent events in Quebec raise this question as the province’s former deputy premier Nathalie Normandeau was dismissed by her employer, a Quebec City radio station, even though her contract expired in August 2019. This occurred after the deposition of seven criminal … Continue reading

What’s in a grade?  

Photo of John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada
  The beginning of summer break for students across Ontario also means the release of their final grades. While student evaluation is only one part of a teacher’s job, it is crucial for the integrity of the school system and for students’ post-secondary education opportunities. In the recent decision Fernandes v Peel Educational & Tutorial … Continue reading

What are the latest developments on whistleblowing in the workplace?

Photo of Judicaël FouquetBy Judicaël Fouquet on Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, France
French employment law does not yet provide for a comprehensive and consistent set of rules for the purpose of protecting whistleblowers. Instead, French employment law tackles issues arising out of whistleblowing situations through a relatively meager set of legislative provisions. Current legislation Under currently applicable legislation, no employee can be disciplined, dismissed or discriminated against … Continue reading

“What are the latest developments on whistleblowing in the workplace in Germany?”

Photo of Jannis BreitschwerdtBy Jannis Breitschwerdt on Posted in Discrimination and harassment, Europe, Germany, Whistleblowing
Apart from the well-known Wiki-leaks, recent prominent cases of whistleblowing such as Lux-leaks, the Panama Papers or the case of the German geriatric nurse Brigitte Heinisch, who was dismissed after revealing the ill-treatment of elderly people in a Berlin retirement home, continue to highlight the continued relevance of the topic “whistleblowing”. While this has resulted … Continue reading

Ontario Court Upholds Employment Agreement Provision that Limited Employee’s Notice of Termination to Statutory Minimum.

Photo of John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada
In Oudin v. Le Centre Francophone de Toronto, The Ontario Superior Court dismissed a motion for summary judgment brought by an employee who alleged that the termination provision in his employment agreement was unenforceable. This provision limited his entitlement to notice of termination to the minimum required by employment standards legislation. The court did find … Continue reading

Arbitrator Upholds Termination of Nurse for Patient Privacy Breaches

Photo of John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada
There is a growing body of arbitral jurisprudence upholding summary dismissal of employees who breached workplace codes of conduct, confidentiality and privacy policies by deliberately snooping into co-worker or client records without any legitimate purpose and for reasons of their own.  A number of these cases have concerned privacy breaches by hospital employees.  Ontario Nurses’ … Continue reading

Fixed costs for fixed-term contracts

Photo of John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada, Contracts
What happens when an employer terminates an employee on a fixed-term contract? The Ontario Court of Appeal in Howard v Benson Group Inc. recently weighed in on the issue. The Court held that the employee was entitled to an amount equal to his salary and benefits for the unexpired term of the employment contract rather … Continue reading

Record Award: Ontario Human Rights Tribunal Awards $150,000 in Compensation

Photo of John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada, Discrimination and harassment
In an unprecedented decision from last May (and worth discussing again), the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal (the Tribunal) awarded a migrant worker $150,000 in compensation for injury to her dignity, feelings, and self-respect under the Ontario Human Rights Code (the Code) as a result of sexual harassment and reprisal at the hands of her employer’s … Continue reading

New Considerations for Public Sector Employers

Photo of Stéphane EricksonBy Stéphane Erickson on Posted in Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada recently rendered its decision in Commission scolaire de Laval v. Syndicat de l’enseignement de la région de Laval, 2016 SCC 8, which clarified two important legal points for public sector employers. First, the Court rejected the notion that a public sector committee that makes disciplinary decisions can refuse to provide … Continue reading
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