By Kimberly Darling and Wendy Woloshyn. (Originally posted December 2018, updated February 2020) We have considered probation a number of times previously on our blog, usually from the point of view of the employer. In this post, we’re going back to basics, with what we’re calling “Probation FAQs” for employers and employees. What is probation? […]
Tag Archives | just cause
Steel in Context – Developments in “Just Cause”
By Andres Barker, Lawyer. Last year around this time, we blogged about the Court of Appeal’s conclusion in Steel v. Coast Capital Savings Credit Union that the employer had just cause to fire an employee who accessed a document in her manager’s personal folder. Both a majority of the Court of Appeal, and the trial […]
Karmel v. Calgary Jewish Academy: When Cause Allegations Become Bad Faith Conduct
Lawyer Erin Brandt (nee Kizell), Contributor. At the risk of repeating ourselves (see previous posts on just cause dismissals here and here), this week’s blog post revisits the topic of just cause and the potential for financial disaster when an employer makes unfounded allegations against an employee. In a recent, high-profile employment law decision from […]
Off-Duty Misconduct – What’s an Employer to Do?
Lawyer Erin Brandt (nee Kizell), Contributor. We thought we had missed our window to comment on the issue of employee off-duty misconduct, now that more than two months have passed since Hydro One employee Shawn Simoes was fired for his on-air harassment of a television news reporter. However, the topic is once again in the […]
Firing for Cause: Disciplinary Action and Timely Warnings
This article by Heather Hettiarachchi discusses the 2011 case of Haddock v. Thrifty Foods, and offers lessons for employers wanting to dismiss employees for poor performance.
Just Cause: Consider the Context
With contributions from Trevor Thomas, Lawyer. While the phrase “just cause” has become a part of the public lexicon (so much so that it has been used as the title of a popular action-adventure video game), the term actually has a specific legal meaning that few non-lawyers are fully familiar with. In fact, in our […]
Employees, Social Media and Just Cause: Lessons for Employers
It’s never wise to badmouth your boss. Doing so on social media can be downright dumb. But does it amount to just cause for dismissal? In some cases, absolutely. A number of labour decisions over the past several years have considered how an employee’s off-duty social media activity can damage an employer’s business or reputation […]
Ghomeshi v. CBC: Is there any merit to his lawsuit?
With contributions by Andres Barker and Erin Brandt (nee Kizell). Thanks to widespread media coverage, it is the rare Canadian who hasn’t heard about the CBC’s recent decision to fire popular radio host and personality Jian Ghomeshi following unconfirmed allegations that he engaged in “unwanted sexual violence” with multiple women. It is that same rare […]
Can I Fire an Employee for Past Misconduct? What Every Employer Needs to Know About Condonation
It is a fundamental principle of wrongful dismissal law that an employer must give a dismissed employee reasonable notice of termination, or provide her with severance pay in lieu of that notice. The exception to this rule occurs when the employer has “just cause” for dismissal – in such cases, the employer can fire the […]
Drinking at Work
Simon is quoted in the Vancouver Sun about alcohol consumption during the workday.
