Showing posts with label ESA s. 54. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ESA s. 54. Show all posts

Sunday 14 May 2017

What Happens in a Buy/Sell Deal if One of the Vendor’s Employees Refuses to Accept the Purchaser’s Offer of Employment?

(c) istock/BernardaSv

A typical term of any significant asset purchase agreement, which sees the employees of the vendor continue in employment with the purchaser, is that the purchaser will make offers of employment on substantially similar terms to the vendor’s employees. As is more fully explained in my post Continuity of Employment Following the Sale of a Business, pursuant to the provisions of Part IV of the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000:

If an employer sells a business or a part of a business and the purchaser employs an employee of the seller, the employment of the employee shall be deemed not to have been terminated or severed for the purposes of this Act and his or her employment with the seller shall be deemed to have been employment with the purchaser for the purpose of any subsequent calculation of the employee’s length or period of employment.

But what if one (or more) of the employees (unreasonably) refuses the purchaser’s offer? Is that employee still entitled to ‘severance’ pay? The answer will surprise most employers.

Saturday 14 May 2016

Employee "On Probation" Terminated Without Cause after Five Months of Employment Not Entitled to Any Notice: Div Court

What is the legal effect of being “on probation”? While this blog has looked at the issue of an employee being employed pursuant to a written employment contract containing a period of probation, (see Ontario Court Awards Four Months Notice to Employee Fired while “On Probation”), a recent decision from the Ontario Divisional Court provides a new wrinkle to this issue.

In Nagribianko v Select Wine Merchants Ltd., 2016 ONSC 490 the Ontario Divisional Court, sitting as the court of appeal from a decision of the Ontario Small Claims Court found that “in the absence of bad faith, an employer is entitled to dismiss a probationary employee without notice and without giving reasons.”

For the reasons argued below, I would respectfully submit that the court in this case got it wrong.

Sunday 27 May 2012

Probationary Periods and Notice

(c) istock/varaphoto

What exactly does it mean to be “on probation” or in a “probationary period” under Ontario employment law? With respect to an employer’s obligation to provide notice of termination or severance pay, it typically refers to an employee’s first three months of employment during which most employers assume that they do not have any legal obligation to provide such notice; nor must they provide severance. As will be seen, that assumption may be incorrect.

Sunday 1 April 2012

Frustration of Contract need not be Frustrating

Many employees who become chronically ill, are injured in a workplace accident, or get hurt in some other type of accident and are unable to return to work for medical reasons often believe that they have no option but to quit their job. By the same token, it is not uncommon for employers to take the position with their employees that the employee must either return to work or quit.

However, as this post will demonstrate the forced options of “return to work or quit” are, in fact, a false dichotomy. Employees have other options and employers have further responsibilities.