There continues to be a seemingly never-ending stream of cases which confirm the perils of assuming that an employer’s liability for reasonable notice of termination will be capped at one month per year of employment.
Employee salaries and benefits can be some of the greatest costs borne by a business. As a result, when a company faces financial hardship, they will often terminate positions to reduce their costs.
In the absence of an employment agreement that expressly sets out a notice period upon termination, employees who are terminated without just cause are entitled to a notice period or pay in lieu of notice from their employers in accordance with the common law.
In the recent unreported decision of the New Brunswick Police Commission and Constable Jeff Smiley, dated December 2, 2015, an arbitrator appointed under the New Brunswick Police Act imposed the penalty of dismissal of a New Brunswick police officer as a result of his misconduct.
Given its rise in popularity in Canadian employment law over the past year, it is only fitting that the subject of the last Employment and Labour publication for 2015 consider a recent decision relating to this evolving area of human rights law.
Early this year, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal chartered into new territory when it awarded an employee $150,000 in damages for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect that were caused by the employer’s egregious violation of the employee’s human rights.
The British Columbia Court of Appeal (the “BCCA”), in Frederickson v Newtech Dental Laboratory Inc., 2015 BCCA 357, overturned the trial judge’s finding that Frederickson had failed to mitigate her damages because she refused to accept an offer of re-employment from her employer, Newtech Dental Laboratory (“Newtech”).
Since 2012, the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission has adopted a restorative approach as the first option in addressing human rights complaints. If a complaint is referred to a Board of Inquiry, parties have the option to either proceed to a traditional hearing, or agree to a Restorative Board of Inquiry process.
The dismissal of a long-term employee who is entitled to common law reasonable notice can result in significant liability for an employer. As the determination of the appropriate notice period is contextual, it can be difficult for an employer to accurately assess their potential liability.
In Evans v Avalon Ford (1996) Limited, 2015 NLTD(G) 100, the employee, Mr. Evans, was Fleet Manager at the Avalon Ford auto dealership, the largest Ford dealership in Atlantic Canada (the “Dealership”), for more than 12 years. On the morning of Thursday, June 10, 2010, a meeting was called by Mr. Wilkins, the Dealership’s owner to discuss an error regarding the delivery of a commercial vehicle without appropriate paperwork being completed.