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Serious insight for serious situations.

Serious insight for serious situations.

Notice no-nos: Some basic “don’ts” when providing notice of termination

Many of our employer clients are led by sophisticated HR teams and experienced managers who are well-versed in the dos of the termination process: do prepare a termination letter in advance; do consider who should be present in the termination meeting; and do seek advice as to the appropriate length of notice of termination to

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“FHRITP” = Career-limiting move

For those unfamiliar with this vulgar form of harassment, “FHRITP” refers to the offensive trend of female reporters being heckled on-air by some miscreant shouting “f**k her right in the p***y!” When CityNews reporter Shauna Hunt was targeted with that nonsense while interviewing fans outside a Toronto FC game this past Sunday, she challenged a

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What’s the fix to ending a fixed-term contract early?

Fixed-term contracts are those that anticipate and set out a certain length of employment. But what if the parties want to bring the relationship to an end within the fixed-term? Is the employer on the hook to pay for the remaining term? This was precisely the question before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently.

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Missing the target: Understanding mass terminations and CCAA protection

Over the last few weeks, the news has been dominated by stories of struggling businesses, including Target Canada Co. (“Target Canada”) and the impending mass termination of its employees. Many of these reports have focused on the (subjectively) small “severance packages” these employees are expected to receive. In Ontario, a “mass termination” is one that

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Expect the unexpected: Employees (and Rob Ford) on sick leave

I spent much of this past weekend poring over the news associated with Rob Ford’s departure from the Toronto mayoral race due to ill health. Despite feeling sympathy for Mr. Ford and wishing him a speedy recovery, there were voters and columnists who spoke of their disappointment at being deprived of the opportunity to cast

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Trust and loyalty never go out of fashion – Court makes finding of cause against senior employee

Alleging cause against an employee is the most severe punishment an employer can impose. It means no severance, no reference and no Employment Insurance Benefits for the employee. Being accused of wrongdoing can have far reaching consequences for an employee. As a result, employers bear the burden of proving cause, which can be difficult and

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Terminating older employees – the debate continues: Do retirement plans diminish entitlement to notice?

Over the past couple of years, we have seen a number of cases in which courts have grappled with the amount of reasonable notice to be given to employees who have long service and who are past the traditional age of retirement. We wrote about this for the first time in our blog “How does

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