Tag: Constructive Dismissal

Court of Appeal Outlines Key Principles On Suspending Employees With and Without Pay

In Filice v. Complex Services, the Ontario Court of Appeal provided valuable guidance regarding constructive dismissal, investigative suspensions of employees without pay and proper damages assessments. The plaintiff/respondent in appeal was employed by Complex Services (the defendant/appellant) as a Security Shift Supervisor at Casino Niagara and Fallsview Casino. All employees in the Casino’s Security Department…

Court Finds Emails Between Management and HR Department Not Privileged

A Master of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently rejected an employer’s assertion that emails between management and its Human Resources (HR) department were privileged and therefore not subject to disclosure in a constructive dismissal action. He stated that if “management seeks confidentiality in dealing with an employee, it should consult with counsel and…

Court Finds Employer Took Appropriate Steps to Change Terms of Employment – No Constructive Dismissal

In Lancia v. Park Dentistry, the Ontario Superior Court found that an employer who wished to change the terms of employment did not constructively dismiss a long-term employee because she was provided with 18 months’ working notice as well as a new contract with a signing bonus. The plaintiff worked as dental hygienist for the…

Ontario Court Finds Investment Firm Liable for Defamation in a Notice Of Termination Filed with IIROC and Orders Correction

The Ontario Superior Court has found that an investment firm defamed one of its former traders when it filed a Notice of Termination (NOT) with the securities regulator indicating the trader’s employment had been terminated for failing to follow trading policies and engaging in unauthorized trading. The Court concluded that there was no cause for…

School Board Management Conference

Our School Board Conference will cover a wide variety of topics relevant to Directors of Education, Trustees, Supervisory Officers and Human Resources Practitioners. We will take you first on a “whirlwind tour” of recent developments in labour, employment and education law. This will be followed by a plenary session on critical issues concerning the changing landscape in school board collective bargaining. Following a buffet lunch, we will invite you to attend two afternoon workshops of your choice.

Indefinite Suspensions with Pay: The SCC Clarifies the Test for Constructive Dismissal

The Supreme Court of Canada recently considered the common law doctrine of constructive dismissal in Potter v. New Brunswick Legal Aid Services, where a majority of the Court (with two justices concurring in the result) concluded that placing an employee on an indefinite administrative suspension with pay constituted constructive dismissal. It found that even where…

Hicks Morley featured in Benefits Canada

Hicks Morley was cited in the May 26, 2014 edition of Benefits Canada in an article entitled “Court reduces award given to bullied employee“. The article references Hicks Morley’s recent FTR Now entitled, “Court of Appeal Reduces $1.45 Million Award to Constructively Dismissed Employee” which reviewed the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision to reduce the…