The Workplace Lawyers

Under the common law, each employee is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect in the workplace. Canadian courts have concluded that it is an implied term in each employment contract that the employer will treat the employee respectfully, and this implied term has been expanded over time to include the requirement to provide a workplace free of harassment, including sexual harassment. ...more

In Beaudoin v Agriculture Financial Services Corporation, 2018 ABQB 627 (“Beaudoin”), the employer Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (“AFSC”) dismissed the Plaintiff, Ms. Sandra Beaudoin for just cause, alleging insubordination and disobedience. The Court found that the dismissal of the Plaintiff Ms. Beaudoin was unjustified in the circumstances, and awarded Ms. Beaudoin 14-months payment in lieu of reasonable notice. ...more

The recent Alberta case Jonasson v Nexen, 2018 ABQB 598 (“Jonasson”) is a recent step in the direction of employee rights in Alberta, because it affirms obligations of honesty and fairness on employers in the province, with potentially sweeping implications. ...more

Employees often wonder if there is anything they can do when they are told by their manager or boss that their job title or their pay structure will be changing. If an employee does not want to have their job changed in these ways, can they refuse to accept? ...more

For many, the termination of their employment comes as a shock. People often invest years of their lives into the jobs they perform and develop relationships with those they see on a daily basis. It is extraordinarily difficult at the time of dismissal to understand what the best course of action is, or even what rights you can avail yourself to. ...more

We are pleased to announce and celebrate the decision today of Justice Krogan of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Saskatchewan. This decision, giving the right of all Saskatchewan citizens, regardless of their age to change their gender identity or sex designation on their birth certificate to reflect whom they are as they choose. That choice remains M or F or removing any reference to gender or sex or having... ...more

The recent Alberta case Lalonde v Sena Solid Waste Holdings Inc., 2017 ABQB 374 will likely serve as a reminder to employers that alleging just cause when terminating an employee’s employment is not a risk-free endeavor. ...more

It is now well established in Canada that when an employer terminates the employment of an employee without just cause, it must pay the employee both the notice period outlined in the applicable provincial statute, such as the Employment Standards Code of Alberta, and an additional amount, the total of which is known as “reasonable notice” of termination. ...more

The Decision ...more

What many are calling a ground-breaking decision on contract law came down from the Supreme Court last week; although the decision applies to all commercial dealings, the decision will likely prove to be particularly important for those individuals and companies that are parties to an independent contractor agreement. ...more

Recent events at the CBC and the Liberal Party of Canada have, once again, brought to light the age-old problem of sexual assault and sexual harassment in the workplace. ...more