Section 240 of the Canada Labour Code (“Code”) provides protection to non-unionized, non-management, federal employees against termination of employment. Under the legislation employees cannot be terminated “unjustly”. Similar to unionized workers, under the Code a federally regulated employee has job protection and can only be terminated because of lack of work, discontinuance of a function, or cause.

Despite their frequent use restrictive covenants are difficult to enforce. The Canadian economy benefits from open competition free from encumbrances. Recently, the Court of Appeal demonstrated its distaste for these types of clauses by refusing to enforce overly broad restrictive covenants indicating they were unreasonable (see Martin v. ConCreate USL Limited Partnership, 2013 ONCA 72).

A form of bullying gaining recognition in Canada is known as “mobbing”. Mobbing is the insidious conduct of a group of employees towards another employee or a superior. The desired result of this harmful treatment is to put pressure on the employee or superior, often with the intention of inducing them to leave employment. Victims of mobbing have valid grounds for claiming constructive dismissal cases.

Economic uncertainty does not give an employer the right to reduce an employees' compensation and change their work. Assessing whether an employee is constructively dismissed is fact specific. Courts’ will examine each situation and determine whether the new position is substantially different, whether the employee can perform the new work, and whether the job is demeaning.

The obligation to accommodate family status was initially viewed narrowly. An employer couldn’t discriminate because a worker was a parent. A woman with eight (8) children was equally entitled to be promoted as a man with a stay-at-home wife. Over the years the term family status has matured not only to include the freedom from discrimination because of being a parent but also to include accommodation of parental care obligations.

The Employment Standards Act sets out an employees’ minimum entitlement to notice and severance pay on termination of employment. Courts have long held that the Employment Standards Act, 2000 are minimum entitlements only. According to the Courts, an employer is obliged to pay damages to the dismissed employee during the time it will take to replace the lost employment.

Choosing an employment lawyer to trust with your concerns is a very important decision. Ask questions! Make sure your lawyer has the knowledge an expertise to properly understand your situation. Lawyers' who have good trial records are better able to negotiate packages as they send a message to the employer that they are ready to fight for the best resolution.

NEW FAMILY LEAVES Proposed changes to the Employment Standards Act recognize the importance of family and caregiver responsibilities. In March 2013 the Ontario Government introduced Bill 21 that would, if passed, provide unpaid job-related protection for employees who are needed at home.

Yes! I am entitled to commissions on termination of employment. If I lose my job, what happens to the commissions on the jobs I’m working on…do they have to pay me some of that? It only makes sense that employees who receive commissions be entitled to damages for the loss of opportunity to earn this variable compensation when their employment is terminated.

Civility within the Workplace? “He can call me a liar, whore, slut, bitch, but when he called me a thief, that’s crossing the line.” Employers behaving badly by demeaning and belittling their employees has become a systemic problem.