Whether you are an employee working in British Columbia, or an employer, overtime entitlements are often at the forefront of your employment relationship. As a starting point, non-managerial employees are entitled to overtime pay on any hours worked in excess of eight hours in a day, or 40 hours in a standard work week, and […]
Archive | Blog
Mandatory Vaccination Policies: Will an employee’s political belief opposing vaccination attract protection under the B.C. Human Rights Code?
With the implementation of more and more mandatory vaccination policies in the workplace, many employers and employees are questioning who is exempt from such polices under the B.C. Human Rights Code. The Human Rights Code protects employees from unreasonable discrimination in their employment when the discrimination relates to one of the enumerated protected grounds in […]
Paid Sick Leave in B.C. requires Employers to review Contracts
Last month, the provincial government announced changes to the Employment Standards Act, RSBC 1996 c 210 (the “Act”) entitling workers in B.C. to paid sick leave. All eligible workers covered by the Act will receive five days of paid sick days starting January 1, 2022. These paid days replace the entitlement workers received as a […]
BC Government proposes significant changes to province’s privacy laws
By Sean Marzinzik FIPPA is the privacy legislation that governs public bodies in B.C. and the provincial government announced changes to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“FIPPA”) on October 18, 2021. Bill-22 includes several noteworthy proposed amendments. Change to requirement to keep personal information in BC The law in the province […]
Mitigating the Uncertainty of Canada’s Emergency Response Benefit
By Blake Storey On November 8, 2021, the British Columbia Supreme Court issued a decision in the matter of Yates v Langley Motor Sport Centre Ltd., 2021 BCSC 2175, where the court addressed how the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (“CERB”) may be treated in light of a wrongfully dismissed employee’s duty to mitigate their loss. […]
Job Abandonment: Employee on two year medical leave did not abandon employment for failing to provide a doctor’s note
By Makenzie Johnston. In its recent decision in Hettrick v Triple F Paving Co Ltd, 2021 ONSC 208, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice considered whether an employee’s actions clearly and unequivocally indicated an intention to abandon her employment after taking a two year medical leave. Background The plaintiff brought a summary judgment application against […]
The Employment Standards Act and Family Responsibilities – Employer Forum Recap
For our June Employer Forum, Kent lawyers Fiona H. McFarlane and Sean Marzinzik led a discussion about the Employment Standards Act and human rights legislation. The discussion focused on: the laws in place in British Columbia that ensure employees can meet various family responsibilities, and that employers who impact these rights risk exposing themselves to […]
Recap: Virtual Employer Forum – Restrictive Covenants: When and How to Use Them
Recap: Virtual Employer Forum – Restrictive Covenants: When and How to Use Them For its May Employer Forum, we turned our attention to restrictive covenants: What are they, why do you need them, and how should you put them into place? KEL lawyers Simon Kent and Ryan Macklon led the discussion, which included a review […]
Covid-19 Case Law Update: Is It CERB Payback Time?
By Fiona H. McFarlane and Janelle Neufeld The courts are slowly weighing in on the impact of the global pandemic on employment relationships. The BC Supreme Court’s decision in Hogan v. 1187938 B.C. Ltd., 2021 BCSC 1021 is one example. The Facts Terence Hogan was an assistant service manager of Mercedes-Benz and was 52 years […]
Recap: Virtual Employer Forum – Mental Health Matters
For our April Employer Forum, the focus was workplace mental health – a particularly timely topic given the widely-acknowledged negative impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on our mood, functioning and overall psychological wellbeing. Forum facilitators lawyer Fiona McFarlane and former clinical counsellor (and current KEL co-owner) Wendy Woloshyn began the discussion with a […]
