by Sara Parchello

Many employers are trying to reorganize operations in order to survive this economic downturn. As Canadian employers know, a substantial change in an employee’s job functions can lead an employee to make a claim for constructive dismissal. This can result in significant liabilities when you can least afford it. How far can a Canadian employer go to reorganize the workforce without triggering a claim for constructive dismissal?

What is constructive dismissal?
To recap, and as most readers are aware, a constructive dismissal results in a claim much like a wrongful dismissal claim:  An employee argues that he or she was terminated, without proper reasons, from the job he or she had accepted. In constructive dismissal cases, Canadian courts have sought to protect employees and provide a remedy if an employer attempts to unilaterally change the employment relationship.

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by Katie Clayton and Jennifer Shepherd

Figuring out an employee’s entitlements upon termination can be tricky in Canada. It can be an even trickier exercise for commissioned employees. For example, are employers required to pay employees commissions for deals that close after they are terminated? Unless the employment contract explicitly states otherwise, the answer is probably.

Employers have a choice when they decide to terminate an employee in Canada: They can provide “working notice” or they can pay termination pay in lieu of notice. If payment is made in lieu of notice, the general rule is that an employer must provide the terminated employee an amount at least equal to the wages the employee would have earned if that employee had worked during the notice period.

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by Derek Knoechel

Morley Shafron sold his Vancouver-based insurance agency business in 1987 for $700,000 in cash and shares. He became a shareholder and director of the surviving company and agreed to provide management services. The agreement included a non-competition clause that would take effect if he left the company. The clause would prohibit him from engaging in the insurance brokerage business “within the metropolitan City of Vancouver” for a period of three years after departure.

The business changed hands three and a half years later. Morley signed another employment agreement with essentially the same non-competition clause, although he would be dropped from virtually all aspects of management. This agreement was renewed in 1993 and 1998, with the last agreement expiring December 31, 2000.

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by Martin Denyes

As Ontario employers reduce their workforces and potentially look to smaller numbers of remaining employees to take on increasing workloads, February is the time to review existing excess hours agreements and permits and overtime averaging agreements and permits.

Legislation requiring permits and agreements for hours in excess of 48 in a week and in circumstances in which an employer averages hours over two or more weeks became effective in March 2004. Averaging agreements and permits must be renewed every two years. Excess hours agreements are on three year cycles. Averaging permits issued in 2007 will be up for renewal this year, while excess hours permits issued in 2006 are due for renewal this year.

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by Gilda Villaran

U.S. companies doing business in Canada often have to send some of their U.S. employees on business trips to Canada. When making arrangements for a trip to Canada, immigration requirements for admission into Canada are certainly not what the U.S. employer thinks about first. On the contrary, at the very last minute, if ever, the question is posed: “Do our employees need any documents in order to cross the border?” The response is yes, probably they do.

The first important question to be asked is the citizenship of the employee. If the employee is a citizen of a country for which Canada requires a visa and is not a green-card holder, it will be necessary to make an application for a temporary resident visa at a Canadian consulate in the United States. Note that U.S. citizens do not need a visa to enter Canada.

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