The Ontario Court of Appeal recently had an opportunity to re-visit the distinction between “wilful misconduct” and “just cause” in the case of Render v. ThyssenKrupp Elevator (Canada) Limited, 2022 ONCA 310. The Court’s final determination and their analysis may surprise you. Background on Termination: ESA vs Common Law  In Ontario, the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) […]

Drafting valid termination provisions in an employment agreement can feel like an uphill battle. Every time employers think they have a strong foothold, another case comes along and their footing slips, sometimes by inches, other times by miles. The last several years have been a period of significant slips. Most recently, an employer’s termination provisions […]

In 2024, British Columbia employers are now under new and more onerous regulations governing how to handle employees who suffer an illness or injury in the course of employment. Amendments to the province’s Workers’ Compensation Act took effect January 1, 2024 that imposed two new duties: the duty to “cooperate”, on employers and injured workers, and the duty to “maintain employment”, on employers. 

Non Solicitation Clauses (“NSC(s)”) are a crucial tool for employers to protect their business from former employees. One topic of confusion, however, is how specific an employer must be in defining what customers or clients are off-limits to the former employee. Must they be specifically named? Or can they be defined just as “customers” more […]

Scenario: A manufacturing company holds an executive “retreat” in Whistler, B.C. After a day spent hiking, the group of employees gathers around a fire to listen to a team-building consultant hired by the employer. The consultant proposes a “trust building” exercise: she asks everyone to put their smartphones in a box after disabling their passwords. […]

Consider a scenario where a former employee who has 15 years of service with the companyinitiates a wrongful dismissal lawsuit against you, the employer. Initially, you perceive it to be insubstantial, as you are aware that the employment contract you provided the employee contains a termination clause which explicitly states that they are entitled only […]

“Changed Substratum” – A Game Changer for Employees with Old and Outdated Employment Contracts Valid employment agreements can become invalid over time.  One of the reasons an existing and otherwise valid employment agreement can become invalid over time is due to “changed substratum”. The “changed substratum” doctrine provides that where the foundation of a written […]

Starting January 1, 2023 certain “business consultants” and “information technology consultants” in Ontario have been excluded from the protections afforded to employees under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”).

THE DISPUTE The parties in this dispute (Besse v. Reach CPA Inc, 2023 BCCRT 27 (CanLII), Karlee Besse and Reach CPA Inc. (Reach), disputed the terms of Miss Besse’s dismissal from Reach. Karlee Besse was hired as an accountant by Reach on October 12, 2021. However, her employment was terminated on March 29, 2022, for […]

There are many conflicting cases across Canada about whether amounts paid to employees from the Canadian government under the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (“CERB”) program are deductible from wrongful termination damages. Recently, the British Columbia Court of Appeal weighed in on this ambiguity in the case of Yates v. Langley Motor Sport Centre Ltd., 2022 […]

A person’s employment is integrally linked not only with their livelihood, but also with their self-esteem and self-worth. Being dismissed from employment (i.e., being terminated) can be a traumatic event for an employee; not only financially, but also emotionally. Employers are expected to recognize the distress, vulnerability, and humiliation often experienced by employees who are being dismissed and respond in an appropriate manner both during the termination process as well as after.