Calgary Employment Law Blog
Evolution Legal News and Articles
Wrongful Dismissal Damages In A Fixed-term Contract: What’s An Employee Owed?
In a fixed-term contract, an employee is hired for a set period (e.g., 6 months, 1 year, etc.). If the employer ends the contract early without cause (i.e., without serious misconduct) and without a valid contractual right to do so, the employee can claim wrongful...
Can An Employee’s Secret Recordings Be Just Cause For Termination? A Case Comment
In the case of Wan v H&R Block Canada Inc, 2024 ABKB 734, the Alberta Court of King’s Bench addressed whether an employee’s secret recordings of workplace meetings constituted just cause for dismissal. Case Background • Employee: Timothy Wan, Vice President...
Induced To Leave Job With 27 Years Of Service: Award Of 12 Months Notice In New Job After Only 2.5 Years Of Service
In Ferweda v Mercer Celgar Limited Partnership, 2024 BCSC 844, the British Columbia Supreme Court addressed the legal principles surrounding inducement in employment and the obligations of employers during recruitment. Backround Mr. Ferweda, an operations...
Can Employers Withhold Bonus During Termination? A Case Comment
Maximenko v Zim, 2024 ONSC 5540 is a significant Ontario Superior Court decision concerning wrongful dismissal and the calculation of reasonable notice and bonuses. Background Ms. Maximenko, nearly 59 years old, served as a General Manager at Zim Integrated Shipping...
Violence, Aggression And Abuse Lead To Significant Damages: A Constructive Dismissal Case Comment
Case Summary: In Osmani v Universal Structural Restorations Ltd., 2022 ONSC 6979, the Ontario Superior Court found that the plaintiff, Mr. Osmani, had been constructively dismissed after enduring repeated workplace harassment and abuse from his supervisor, which the...
Employers Are Bound By Termination Clauses, Too: A Case Comment
In Klyn v Pentax Canada Inc, 2024 BCSC 372, the Supreme Court of British Columbia examined how an employer’s conduct during the termination process can invalidate an otherwise enforceable termination clause. Background: • Mr. Klyn began working with Pentax as...
Significant Damages For Constructively Dismissed Employee: A Case Comment
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice’s decision in Scarrow v Walkey et al, 2024 ONSC 3876, underscores key legal principles in employment law, particularly concerning constructive dismissal, implied contractual terms, and employer obligations. Constructive...
Non-compete & Non-solicitation Unenforceable Against Employees: A Case Comment
In Great North Equipment Inc v Penney, 2024 ABKB 533, the Alberta Court of King’s Bench examined the enforceability of non-solicitation and non-competition clauses within a shareholders’ agreement, focusing on the issue of consideration. Background: Great North...
Injunction Not Granted Against Employees: A Case Comment
In Southwest Design & Construction Ltd v Janssens, 2024 ABKB 502, the Alberta Court of King’s Bench addressed an application for an interim injunction by Southwest Design & Construction Ltd. (“Southwest”) against its former employees, Blayne Janssens and David...
Another Overbroad Termination Provision: What It Means For Employees
In De Castro v Arista Homes Limited, 2024 ONSC 1035, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice addressed critical issues concerning the enforceability of termination clauses in employment contracts and the employer’s burden in proving an employee’s failure to mitigate...
Constructive Dismissal In Alberta: A Guide For Employees
Constructive dismissal is a legal concept that protects employees when an employer makes a fundamental change to the job or creates intolerable working conditions, effectively forcing the employee to resign. In Alberta, as in the rest of Canada, the law may treat such...
Rosenberg V Northern Nursing Solutions Inc, 2024 ABCJ 220: A Case Comment
This Alberta Court of Justice case involved a wrongful dismissal claim by a licensed practical nurse against her former employer, Northern Nursing Solutions Inc. The plaintiff had been recruited from a secure job in another province and later terminated after...
Is An Overbroad Termination Clause Enforceable? A Case Comment
In Dufault v Ignace (Township), 2024 ONCA 915, the Ontario Court of Appeal found the “for cause” termination clause in the contract was illegal and unenforceable, because it undermined the Ontario Employment Standards Act’s (ESA) employee protections. The ESA only...
Are You Subject To A Non-compete By Your Employer?
In Alberta, a non-competition clause in an employment agreement can be enforceable—but only under strict conditions. Courts in Alberta (and generally across Canada) are cautious with these clauses because they restrict a person’s ability to earn a living. Here’s what...
What Should A Severance Review Include?
A severance review should ensure that an employee is receiving fair and legally compliant compensation upon termination. Here’s what it should include: 1. Termination Clause Review (if There’s An Employment Contract) • Is there a written contract? • Does it...
Enforceability Of Termination Provision Despite Employer’s Allegation Of Just Cause: A Case Comment
In Singh v Clark Builders, 2025 ABKB 3, the Alberta Court of King’s Bench upheld a termination clause in an employment contract, limiting the employee’s notice entitlement to 90 days, despite the employee’s promotion from Vice President to Chief Operating Officer...
Forced To Sign A Release In Exchange For Your Contractual Severance? A Case Comment
In the case of Timmins v Artisan Cells, 2024 ONSC 7123, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice addressed the issue of an employer repudiating an employment agreement by failing to fulfill its contractual severance obligations. Background: Dr. Nicholas Timmins...
Enticed To Leave Your Job Then Terminated? Inducement’s Effect On Wrongful Dismissal Damages
Wrongful dismissal claims often hinge on determining the proper amount of reasonable notice or pay in lieu of notice owed to an employee who was terminated without cause. Courts assess multiple factors (commonly known as the Bardal factors in Canadian law) to decide...
Severance Pay: How Is It Calculated?
When an employee in Alberta is terminated without cause and without an enforceable termination clause, they are entitled to common law reasonable notice (often paid as severance in lieu of working notice). Unlike the minimum standards in Alberta’s Employment Standards...
Bad Faith Terminations
Employers in Alberta must navigate both statutory employment standards and common law principles when terminating employees. While the Alberta Employment Standards Code sets minimum requirements for termination (such as notice or pay in lieu), the common law imposes...
Have You Experienced Workplace Harassment?
Workplace harassment can involve unwelcome behaviour that makes an employee feel humiliated, threatened, or unsafe. Workplace harassment generally means any unwelcome or inappropriate behavior in the workplace that intimidates, offends, degrades, or humiliates a...
Do You Have A Fixed-term Employment Contract? What It Means
Fixed-term contracts in Alberta provide a clear end date for the employment, which influences how termination is handled. In Alberta, the rules for ending a fixed-term employment contract are governed by the Alberta Employment Standards Code (ESC) and common law...
Are You An Employee Or Independent Contractor? Breaking Down The Difference
Legal Definitions And Classification Criteria Under Alberta’s Employment Standards Code (ESC), an employee is defined as “an individual employed to do work who receives or is entitled to wages,” and an employer is “a person who employs an employee”. The ESC does not...
Pay Cuts: Are they Legal?
In Alberta, an employer cannot arbitrarily cut an employee’s pay without risking legal consequences. Employment laws and court rulings limit an employer’s ability to unilaterally reduce wages. Significant pay cuts made without the employee’s consent may violate...
Just Cause for Termination in Alberta
Statutory Framework (Employment Standards Code) In Alberta, the Employment Standards Code (ESC) sets minimum requirements for termination notice or pay. Generally, an employer must give an employee advance notice of termination or pay in lieu of notice, based on the...
Fired? Here’s a Guide to How You Figure Out What You’re Owed
In Alberta, reasonable notice of termination is calculated based on both statutory and common law frameworks. The Employment Standards Code (ESC) sets the minimum legal requirements, while common law (judge-made law) may provide greater notice periods based on...
What is Mitigation?
In employment and human rights law in Alberta, mitigation generally refers to the legal duty of a person who has suffered a loss—such as being wrongfully dismissed or experiencing a human rights violation—to take reasonable steps to reduce or “mitigate” that loss....
Failure to Provide Advance Warnings Can Mean No Just Cause for Termination: A Case Comment
Case Overview: Cumberland v Maritime College of Forest Technology, 2023 NBKB 065 Cumberland v Maritime College of Forest Technology, 2023 NBKB 065 is a notable wrongful dismissal case from New Brunswick that underscores the importance of progressive discipline in...
No Consideration (Benefit) Means No Enforceability: The Requirement of Fresh Consideration in Post-Contractual Amendments to Employment Agreements
Case Overview: Goberdhan v Knights of Columbus, 2023 ONCA 327 In Goberdhan v Knights of Columbus, 2023 ONCA 327, the Ontario Court of Appeal addressed the enforceability of arbitration clauses in employment contracts and the necessity of fresh consideration for...
Seconded to another organization under the terms of your employment? Which terms prevail? A case comment.
Case Overview: Nader v University Health Network, 2022 ONSC 447 In Nader v University Health Network, 2022 ONSC 447, the Ontario Superior Court addressed the legal implications of secondment agreements within the framework of existing employment contracts. ...