In the recent case called Teljeur v. Aurora Hotel Group, 2023 ONSC 1324, the Ontario Superior Court decision provides an important reminder for employers about always acting with fairly and properly when terminating employees, to avoid having to pay employees moral damages in addition to a severance
Temporary Layoff? Is Employee’s Silence a Tacit Agreement to a Constructive Dismissal? Court Says “No”
Ontario Court of Appeal Says Silence Does Not Equal Condonation for Temporary Layoff In Ontario, many employment lawyers guide both employees and employers with issues of unpaid temporary layoffs, which is a sensitive topic - and rightfully so. Quite often, we find that employers mistakenly
Ontario Employment Lawyer – What is a Severance Package?
What is an Employment Termination Severance Package? When a company terminates employment, it usually provides the employee with documentation it asks the employee to review, sign and send to it to finalize the termination process. For an employment relationship, there are typically one of three
Changes to Canada Labour Code Employment Rules
The Canadian government recently announced some changes to the Canada Labour Code that will affect all federally-regulated employees. Under Regulation SOR/2023-180 related to the Canada Labour Code, there will be certain exemptions for specific categories of employees for companies in sectors
What Qualifies as “Just Cause” for Dismissal in Ontario?
What is Just Cause for Dismissal? Ask any experienced severance package lawyer and most will tell you that under Ontario employment, it is very difficult for employers to successfully defend a wrongful dismissal claim - especially when they have alleged just cause for dismissal. In fact, the
Quesnelle v Camus Hydronics Ltd. – Case Summary
In a recent Ontario employment law court case, a few important topics were addressed, including constructive dismissal, the validity of a termination clause in an employment contract, and an employee's duty to mitigate in a wrongful dismissal claim. Facts The plaintiff, a heating, ventilation
Employer’s Conduct in Termination Meeting Results in Bad Faith Dismissal Damages
In a previous Ontario employment law blog, the courts have generally sided on an employer's side to conclude that surreptitiously recording a work-place meeting could be grounds to terminate an employee for just cause, resulting in an employee not receiving any wrongful dismissal damages. However,
New Employment Law Rules for Federally-Regulated Employers and Employees – Canada Labour Code
Recently, the federal government significantly updated the Canada Labour Code, which brings it more in line with (and even exceeds) some of the employment law requirements set out in the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000. Most importantly, the new employment standards involves an increase in