If you’re an employer or HR representative well-acquainted with the realm of employment law blogs, you’ve undoubtedly encountered a myriad of cautionary tales about the perils of contracting errors.  The blogs about this topic are countless – and for good reason! The significance of getting contracts right cannot be overstated, as a single mistake could potentially lead to substantial liabilities for your organization. An omitted phrase or a misused word within a termination clause could be the deciding factor between an 8-week statutory notice obligation and a hefty 24-month damages award.Continue Reading Don’t Lose Your Enforceable Termination Clause to the Substratum Doctrine

While Canadian readers are no doubt aware that we have a federal election coming up, for those who might not be following Canadian politics, a federal election has been called and voting will take place on Monday October 19, 2015.

Fun Facts for American readers

  • Canada is a different country than the United States of America, and we can elect our very own leaders;Harper in front of Parliament
  • Steven Harper is Canada’s current Prime Minister, the Canadian less charismatic equivalent of the current US President.  He has held his office since 2006 and is now running for his fourth term.  Refer to the attached picture of Mr. Harper standing in front of our Legislature;
  • Yes, the guy running for the Liberal Party is the son of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, not that we have any sort of monarchical tendencies in Canada;
  • Unlike in the US, in Canada there is no limit on the consecutive number of terms a leader can hold the top job.  A political career can go on and on and on, sometimes passed down through generations.

Continue Reading Voting Laws for Canadian Employees

ESA PosterOh statutory posting requirements.  I’ve visited this bland but important topic before, such as past posts on Mandatory Workplace Postings in Ontario when there were new requirements under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The required OHSA poster that I discussed in that post remains current and can be accessed on the Ministry of Labour’s website.

An update has occurred in the world of the Employment Standards poster. As of May 20, 2015 there are new poster requirements under the Employment Standards Act, a new version of the poster of which you can download here.Continue Reading HR Posting Requirements

The Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with a Disability set out the rights and obligations regarding employees, but what about volunteers?  A reader of this blog (thanks Angie!) has asked about the application of these laws when recruiting volunteers.  Human rights codes across Canada work largely the same on this issue,

Earlier this week, I received an email from the owner of a small company who was frustrated at all of the resources available for employees and the lack of resources for employers.  She pointed out that the various human rights commissions across Canada will often offer services to complainants, and that in general, the system