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Serious insight for serious situations.

Serious insight for serious situations.

Dependent contractors receive 26 months’ pay in lieu of notice

The common law in Ontario, relating to dependent contractors, is now well established. Employment relationships exist on a continuum; with the employer/employee relationship at one end of the continuum, and independent contractors at the other end. Between those two points, lies a third intermediate category of relationship, now termed “dependant contractors”. Like employees, dependant contractors

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Making justice more accessible – the changing face of employment law litigation

Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin is well known for her outspoken views about access to justice.  Chief Justice McLachlin has for many years written and spoken about the unaffordability of our legal system. She has been critical of our system, noting that trials have become the norm and that delay is rampant, making it impossible for

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How does “older” old age affect reasonable notice? Consider this trilogy of cases

Last week in our Employers’ Alert, we wrote about a number of recent age discrimination cases.  We also referred to a number of American cases, and we pondered whether there would be an increase in age discrimination cases given the aging of the Canadian workplace, but also the presence of employees who are older than

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Clear drafting: Essential to the enforceability of termination clauses

When terminating an employee without just cause, an employer is required to provide the employee with reasonable notice of the termination or reasonable payment in lieu of such notice at common law.  The length of notice can be significantly less than the common law would require provided that the parties enter into an employment agreement

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The unintended consequence of an enforceable non-competition agreement … A Longer reasonable notice period

Employers often wish to restrict the competitive activities of an employee who is no longer in their service. However, the Ontario Superior Court case of Dimmer v. MMV Financial Inc. (2012 ONSC 7257) informs employers that where they seek to restrict an employee from engaging in competitive activity post-termination, the reasonable notice period awarded may be

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Alberta court reaffirms reasonable notice entitlements for dependent contractors

At the end of a typical employment relationship, it is not uncommon for the parties to disagree over the amount of “reasonable notice” (or pay in lieu of notice) that the employer is required to give to the employee under common law. However, in situations where an organization has retained an individual as a contractor

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Notice not always proportionate to service in case of short service employee

A recent case involving the termination of a short service employee, illustrates a principle that is often difficult for employers to accept.  A terminated employee’s entitlement to reasonable notice may not always be proportionate to his or her notice. The case in point is Gingerich v. Kobe Sportswear Inc. (unreported, January 25, 2008).  Here, Mr.

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