An employment law blog.
Sean Bawden, Partner, Kelly Santini LLP.
sbawden@kellysantini.com | 613.238.6321
Saturday 17 November 2012
Exclusion Clause Insulates Against Tort Claims
Tuesday 13 November 2012
The $2.5 Million Dollar Question
Sunday 11 November 2012
Claims to the WSIB for Mental Stress and Workplace Harassment
Can an Ontario worker make a claim to the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) for benefits when the cause of injury is mental stress?
Wednesday 31 October 2012
Chronic Absenteeism: Employer Rights and Obligations
(c) istock/Olivier Le Moal
This blog has previously considered the issue of the rights of chronically absent employees. However, there is a flip side to the situation: the rights of employers.
The two most frequently asked questions by employers with respect to the chronically absent are: (1) Can I fire this individual; and (2) If I can fire this employee, how much is it going to cost me?
Tuesday 30 October 2012
Chronic Absenteeism: Employee Rights
(c) istock/Highwaystarz-Photography
Every year Forbes magazine releases a list of the most ridiculous excuses for calling in sick. Other publications do similar things. In its list from 2011, Forbes listed amongst its favourite worst reasons:
One employee said he couldn’t make it to work because his 12-year-old daughter stole his car. Another called in sick with a headache from going to too many garage sales. One employee claimed he had caught a cold from a puppy.
While lists like these can be amusing, they highlight a more serious issue: employee absenteeism. According to the same Forbes article:
CareerBuilder does an annual survey on absenteeism, and [in 2011] the poll reached out to more than 4,300 workers and 2,600 employers. It revealed that 29% of employees have skipped at least one work day this year by claiming to be sick when they weren’t.
The study raises two important questions: What are an employee’s rights to sick days under Ontario law, and what are an employer’s rights? This post will focus on an employee’s rights and responsibilities. (For a review of employer's rights, please see this post.)
Friday 19 October 2012
Supreme Court of Canada: Employees’ Rights to Privacy with Work Equipment
Do employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy in employer-provided technology?
In an update to my earlier post Employees’ Rights to Privacy with Work Equipment, on October 19, 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada has released its decision in the case of R. v. Cole, 2012 SCC 53.
The case answers the question of whether an employee can have a reasonable expectation of privacy in employer-provided technology.