Discipline and Dismissals - Articles & Videos
Don’t Accidentally Settle Your Severance Claim
If you’ve been given a severance offer, it can be risky to engage in informal negotiations with your former employer, because you risk entering into an agreement that won’t be favourable to you.
Rule of Thumb for Notice Upon Termination? Don’t Count On It
If you are an employer or an employee, you have probably heard that the general rule of thumb when it comes to entitlement to notice upon termination is one month per year of service. Is that really true? What does the law have to say?
“Not in Your Job Description” – Fired for Masturbating at Work
In the recent case of Unifor, Local 2215 and I.M.P. Group Ltd. (AB), Re, a Nova Scotia Arbitrator upheld the termination of an employee for cause and confirmed that progressive discipline is not “an invariable rule that must be followed in all cases regardless of the circumstances.”
Employee’s Length of Service Not Interrupted by Creative Use of “New” Corporate Structures
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently released a decision confirming that courts will not be fooled by different corporate structures when an employee has, in reality, been employed with the same employer for years.
Employee Refuses to Return to Work After Illegal Layoff – Court Finds Failure to Mitigate
Losing a job is nerve-wrecking for most people. Employees must be careful, however, because they have a duty to mitigate their damages by taking reasonable steps to find comparable employment. Otherwise, their entitlement to damages for wrongful dismissal may be substantially reduced.
Crocodile Tears Are Not Enough: Court of Appeal Confirms High Bar for Awarding Aggravated Damages
While being terminated from one’s employment can undoubtedly lead to emotional upset, the law does not recognize mental states that fall short of injury.
Asleep At The Wheel: Why A Dozing Employee Received One Restless Slumber
This case is another in a long list of cautionary tales where employers have been penalized for acting hastily and failing to conduct an investigation before dismissing an employee for alleged misconduct.
Highs and Lows: Cannabis Legalization Doesn’t Mean You Can Be High at Work
Employees: do not confuse the change in criminal laws with any change at work; they are two very different concepts and showing up high at work could cost you your job.
Not Every Breach of Contract is Cause for Dismissal
Not every breach of an employment contract permits an employer to terminate the contract and dismiss the employee without notice. That is particularly true where the breach relates, effectively, to performance.
But First, Let Me Take A Selfie: Why One New York Teacher Is Fighting Back
Employers cannot discriminate based on sex or gender, and so they should be implementing policies that are balanced and in line with current best practices.
