Pension, Benefits & Executive Compensation

It’s not just about the money. Increasingly, executive compensation packages feature complex designs that incorporate pension benefits along with creative bonus plans as well as stock and equity options. Defending organizations against employee claims for entitlement to these benefits requires a multi-disciplinary approach to litigation that incorporates pension law, employment law and tax law expertise—and Hicks Morley delivers.

As Canada’s largest management-side human resources law firm, Hicks Morley is uniquely positioned to provide advice on all matters relating to pension, benefits and executive compensation litigation. Our combination of litigation skills, pension and benefits expertise and knowledge of employment law allows us to address these claims practically and efficiently. We advise on how to structure employment relationships and we are familiar with the workplace environment and employer/employee dynamics.

Clients

We act for a wide variety of employers in the private and public sectors with respect to pension, benefits and executive compensation claims, claims against employers and administrators over the administration of pension and benefits plans, and employer liability for statutory benefits.

Services

Hicks Morley has represented clients on benefits claims ranging from wrongful dismissal actions to multi-jurisdictional claims for employee benefits in the context of restructuring proceedings as well as human rights and Charter-based challenges.

Our experience includes:

  • wrongful dismissal claims that involve claims for pension benefits including grow-in rights loss of pension contributions
  • wrongful dismissal claims that involve claims to performance bonuses or entitlement to stock or other forms of equity entitlement
  • Charter-based challenges to pension and benefits plans
  • claims by employees for pension, insurance or other employee benefits, both pre- and post- retirement
  • tax court determinations of employer liability for Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance Act contributions
  • claims by surviving spouses or family members for insurance benefits, pension benefits or survivor benefits
  • claims against employer and administrators with respect to the management of pension and benefit plans
  • claims against financial institutions over the administration of various registered retirement plans and registered retirement accounts
  • resolving non-union/union jurisdictional issues relating to pension and benefits claims
  • claims against employers/administrators in the context of proceedings under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and Companies’ Creditors Arrangements Act

We provide employers with a full range of legal services covering the legal, regulatory, taxation and human resource aspects of pension plans, group benefits and incentive compensation. Learn more.

The Hicks Morley Advantage

We have a proven track record in pension litigation and a long history of working with various clients in defending their interests in this increasingly complex area of litigation.