When fixed-term contracts are misused, they can become very risky for employers. Below are 4 common ones for employers to avoid.
Continue Reading 4 Common Mistakes to Avoid with Fixed-Term Contracts
If you’re an employer, you know that, whether you have 10 employees or 100, there is an art to managing your workforce and a well-oiled human resource process is necessary for a well-run business. You invest a lot of time and money into your employees and, understandably, expect attendance, productivity, and proper work conduct in return that will benefit your business as a whole.
If you have employees who aren’t meeting the expectations of their role, it’s important not to have a knee-jerk reaction. Instead, progressive discipline gives both the employer and employee the opportunity to get on the same page and provides the employee with a roadmap for improvement.Continue Reading An Employer’s Guide to Managing Employees with Progressive Discipline
With St. Patrick’s Day having just passed, many of us start to bank on luck at this time of the year. While luck might get you to the end of the rainbow on some things, we wouldn’t recommend that you lean on luck when it comes to non-existent, outdated or incomplete employment contracts.
The Consequences of Leaving it up to Luck
First, in case you’re new here or need a quick refresher, employment contracts are often recommended by lawyers and adopted by employers to bring a level of certainty to the employment relationship. Employment contracts can achieve a variety of things but generally, they set out the responsibilities and expectations of the employee and employer. If the employment relationship is bound by provincial employment standards legislation (it usually is), then the contract has to, at the very least, uphold the minimum standards of the applicable legislation.
If your employment contract runs afoul of the applicable employment standards legislation by failing to uphold the minimum standards as required by the law, your contract could be deemed unenforceable. Contracts could also be found to be unenforceable if they fail to comply with the principles of contract law. Continue Reading Don’t Leave it to Luck: Update Employment Contracts Following Substantial Changes to the Job
This past Monday marked the three-year anniversary of the date the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Since that fateful day in 2020, a lot has changed. Though there remain areas where transmission rates are still high, increased vaccination rates, higher immunity, and public health measures have helped curtail the spread of the virus and significantly decreased the rate of new infections in Canada.
As a result, many provinces and territories are revoking laws that were amended or implemented as a result of the virus. For example, about a month ago, Alberta repealed the COVID-19 layoff provisions in its Employment Standards Code (the “ESC”). This followed a trend we saw with the federal government as well as many other provinces such as Ontario. Continue Reading Update on COVID-19 Layoff Provisions
So many of our clients come to us with legal issues that resulted from poorly crafted employment agreements.
Join us as we walk you through the key components of legally-compliant, enforceable and up-to-date employment agreements.
Date: Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Time: 10:30-11:00 am EST
Register today: Click here!Continue Reading Free Webinar: Employment Agreements
Toronto Mayor John Tory shocked the city last week by announcing his resignation due to an intimate relationship with one of his staff. Whatever your opinions about infidelity or John Tory may be, the scandal is a reminder to employers that workplace relationships may develop outside of professional boundaries. At best, these professional-turned-personal connections lead to a healthy and happy relationship for the employees in question. They put up professional boundaries while at work, you get a wedding invitation in the mail and, bonus, they can now carpool to the office. Not all relationships will not follow such a seamless trajectory, however, and can lead to significant disruption and ethical and legal conundrums for an employer. A Relationships at Work policy sets expectations to help avoid those bumpier roads.Continue Reading When Professional and Personal Lives Mingle: Managing Workplace Romances
A new year often means some level of house-cleaning by employers, including the updating of core workplace documents. SpringLaw has seen a spike in this work because many employers understand, now more than ever, the need to have their employment contracts reviewed, with a particular focus on termination provisions. This review should include any ancillary policies, Codes of Conduct, or plan documents referencing when and under what circumstances an immediate termination for cause can occur. We refer to this as a ‘Waksdale review’ because it is driven by the court’s reasoning in Waksdale v. Swegon North America. For legal nerds, our prior blog details why a Waksdale review is necessary. Continue Reading Waksdale Reviews Spark Joy
Ah, the glow of a fresh new year! It’s human nature to use the holiday season and the start of the new year as a time for self-reflection. As Labour, Employment and Contracts lawyers, we can’t help but suggest you also bring this energy to your business and take a fresh look at your workplace policies.
There are many legally required workplace policies here in Ontario, each with legally required components. Beyond those that are legally required, you likely have or want some other workplace policies in place. Read on for a refresher on those legally required policies and tips and tricks for your review. Continue Reading A Fresh Year and a Fresh Look At Your Workplace Policies
Selling and Closing
In this post, we’ll explore a few key employment law considerations for business owners considering the sale or closure of their business. This will be followed by Part II, in which we will examine some of the employment-related legal issues that should be reviewed when purchasing a business.
This post focuses on businesses with non-unionized workforces. Unionized workplaces have their own distinct issues that must be addressed when buying or selling a business and a lawyer should be consulted regarding those as well.
Continue Reading Selling, Closing, or Buying a Business? Consider Your Employment Law Liabilities! (Part 1)
When Mental Health Meets Canada’s Favourite Pastime
A human rights claim alleging discriminatory reasons for a termination is sure to get noticed this week as it intersects with Canada’s favourite pastime: hockey. A former video analyst for the Canucks, Rachel Doerrie, filed a claim alleging that she was told she wasn’t “mentally fit” for the job just days before being terminated by the organization. She is now seeking monetary compensation and asking the human rights tribunal to make orders that will address the discrimination.
Continue Reading Accommodating Mental Health in the Workplace