The Federal Court recently upheld a decision of an adjudicator made under the Canada Labour Code (Code) that an agreement and release signed by an employee whose employment with a bank was terminated did not act as a bar to her unjust dismissal application. The employee had received a lump sum payment and had released…
Tag: Unjust Dismissal
Revisiting Unjust Dismissals in Light of the Wilson Decision
What now? That is the question many federal employers are asking themselves following the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Wilson v. Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. In that decision, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the “unjust dismissal” provisions of the Canada Labour Code prohibit without cause dismissals of non-unionized employees…
Federal Post – Second Edition
Dear Friends, We are delighted to bring you this year-end edition of the Federal Post, our newsletter designed exclusively for federally regulated employers. In this issue, we cover a range of interesting developments in the areas of federal labour, employment standards, unjust dismissal law and health and safety. Ian Campbell (Retd), a lawyer in our…
Federal Court: Unjust Dismissal Complaint for Without Cause Termination Requires Evidentiary Hearing
In a recent decision, Sigloy v. DHL Express (Canada) Ltd., the Federal Court overturned the decision of an adjudicator which had granted an employer’s preliminary objection and dismissed a complaint of unjust dismissal for lack of jurisdiction because the complainant had been dismissed without cause. At the adjudication, the employer objected to the unjust dismissal…
Federal Court of Appeal Breaks the Tie: Without Cause Dismissals Permitted Under Canada Labour Code
The Federal Court of Appeal has acted as a “tie-breaker” on a “nagging legal point” as to whether Part III of the Canada Labour Code (“Code”) permits dismissals on a without cause basis. In Wilson v. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, the Court unanimously held that it does, bringing welcome clarity to an area of…
No Jurisdiction to Determine Unjust Dismissal Complaint Where Employee Terminated Without Cause Pursuant to Employment Contract
In a recent adjudication under the Canada Labour Code (the “Code”), Adjudicator Rose relied on the Federal Court decision in Atomic Energy of Canada v. Wilson to grant an employer’s preliminary objection and dismiss an unjust dismissal complaint. In doing so, he found that in the case of without cause terminations an adjudicator lacks jurisdiction under the…
Dismissals Under the Canada Labour Code
In a recent decision, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited v. Wilson, the Federal Court considered the unjust dismissal provision of the Canada Labour Code (“Code”) and concluded that it does not prohibit federally regulated employers from conducting without cause dismissals. This decision arose out of an unjust dismissal complaint under section 240 of the Code….
Unjust Dismissal Complaints: Being Prepared from Start to Finish (Accredited)
Unjust dismissal complaints under the Canada Labour Code are unique. Although they involve some of the familiar trappings of labour arbitrations and court cases, the preliminary issues involved, process followed, and potential outcomes are different. It is crucial for in-house counsel to know how unjust dismissal complaints work in practice in order to develop the…
Unjust Dismissal in the Context of an Employment Contract Notice Provision
Does an employee who has left the bargaining unit and entered into a binding contract with an employer have access to the unjust dismissal provisions of the Canada Labour Code when his employment is terminated? In a recent case, an adjudicator answered no: the terms of the contract were clear regarding termination, the employee was…
An Employment Contract, A Without Cause Termination and the Availability of “Unjust Dismissal” Protection
Klein and The Royal Canadian Mint, a recent adjudication award made under the Canada Labour Code, affirms the proposition that the unjust dismissal provisions do not protect all employees from termination without cause, particularly where such terminations are conducted in accordance with a binding employment contract. In this case, the complainant had signed an employment…