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Think about terminating your employees before you hire them. Here’s why.
Aug 30th, 2018
Architects of employment agreements are always thorough in the building process, including all of the expectations and standards that are to be met through the employee-employer relationship. Through all the excitement, it is also important to remember adding verbiage for if this relationship does not proceed as expected, resulting in termination.
A spotlight has been shining recently on termination clauses as a result of a number of cases working through the courts across Canada. As common law is continuing to grant employees who have been terminated with more and more, it is becoming more common for employees to fight for what they feel they deserve. This increased attention should be used as a wake-up call for organizations to do a review of their current employment agreement template to ensure it’s as tight-knit as possible.
In a recent case, Amberber v. IBM Canada Ltd., 2018, the employer terminated the employee meeting minimum requirements with notice and payment. Following termination, the employee claimed that they were intitled to pay in lieu of notice under common law. The courts decided to look into what was stated in the employment agreement. The employer won this case due to the failsafe that they had within their employment agreement, along with the traditional amounts and calculations, they had the statement: "In the event that the applicable provincial employment standard legislation provides you with superior entitlements upon termination of employment (statutory entitlements) than provided for in this offer of employment, IBM shall provide you with your statutory entitlements in substitution for your rights under this offer of employment”.
The addition of this statement, or similar, to an employment agreement trumps whatever else is written in that section of the agreement to cover instances where legislation changes and amendments to an individual’s contract have not been amended. This clause protects employers by always ensuring that they are compliant with employment standards.
If your employment agreement is outdated, or you would simply like to have an experienced HR Professional review yours, give Selectpath HR Management a call today.
For more information, see: https://www.employmentlawtoday.com/article/37491-a...