The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that employers can’t rely on termination clauses when employees’ duties have escalated significantly after they signed their original employment contracts, including situations where the employee didn’t receive a promotion. In its ruling, the court relied on the changed substratum doctrine, which states termination clauses in a written employment […]
When it comes to paid time-off policies for religious holidays outside of Christmas and Easter, can provincial governments do more to ensure all employees receive two paid days off to observe their chosen faith? While Andrew Zabrovsky, an employment lawyer with Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP, says the government could make changes to the […]
An Alberta court has ruled that a Calgary grocery store worker placed on indefinite unpaid leave — for failure to comply with a mandatory mask policy — has resigned as opposed to being constructively dismissed and isn’t entitled to reasonable notice or compensation in lieu thereof. “This decision may signal that adjudicators will have little […]
A bill that would amend U.S. labour law to establish a new classification for gig workers could also deny them the right to a minimum wage and other employment protections. The Worker Flexibility and Choice Act would change the Fair Labor Standards Act so ’employee’ doesn’t include anyone who’s entered into a worker-flexibility agreement, such […]
A decision by a British Columbia labour arbitrator on how a drug cost-control program violated a collective agreement was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com over the last week. Here are the five most popular news stories of the week: 1. Implementation of drug cost-control program violated collective agreement: arbitrator 2. Employers seeking to withhold termination entitlements must prove […]
A recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision raises the bar for employers seeking to withhold minimum entitlements under the Employment Standards Act from employees dismissed for cause. The case arose when TK Elevator terminated Mark Render — a manager with more than 30 years’ service — for cause in 2014 after he briefly placed his […]
Ontario is eyeing a new system to provide “portable benefits” for workers in the gig economy, retail and hospitality sectors who don’t currently have health, dental or vision coverage. Under the plan, workers would be able to keep their benefits even if they change jobs, said the province in a press release. If the plan […]
The federal minister in charge of aid to the unemployed says jobless Canadians who refuse to get vaccinated may find themselves blocked from benefits so long as public health concerns remain top of mind. The Liberals have tacked conditions onto a suite of benefits payments saying none can go to workers who lose work or […]
A new report by the Ontario government’s advisory committee on the future of work is recommending the introduction of a new portable benefits program. The Ontario Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee, which delivered its interim report this summer, set out 21 recommendations, including supporting workers who fall outside the purview of traditional benefits programs. The report […]
With the coronavirus pandemic exposing gaps in sickness and caregiving leave provisions across Canada, the Institute for Research on Public Policy is calling for permanent reforms to provide access to short-term paid and protected leaves for all employees. In the study, co-authors Eric Tucker, a professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, and Leah Vosko, a […]