The difficulty of landing full time teaching jobs at the big school boards has created a large pool of underemployed qualified teachers and a ready supply of staff to take on short-term teaching gigs on a contractual basis. In many fields, more university graduates are produced than the economy needs. In recent years, over 40 …
Non-compete and non-solicitation agreements are clauses that attempt to limit a former employee’s ability to work with a competitor and/or solicit former clients for a specific duration of time. In most cases, these types of clauses are found within a written employment agreement. However, for fiduciary employees such as senior executives or those with specialized …
Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation Clauses 101 Read More »
In Ontario, all workers are guaranteed certain rights pursuant to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (the “Act”), which came into force in 1979. Since the Act’s inception, various amendments have been made establishing new safety procedures and rights for workers in the workplace. The Act recognizes three fundamental rights for all workers in Ontario: …
In October of 2019, in Matthews v Ocean Nutrition Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) was asked whether a terminated employee is entitled to bonuses during their reasonable notice period. The SCC’s decision will clarify this contentious area of law and decide whether the Bhasin good faith principle is applicable in this realm. More importantly, this decision will …
Now that recreational cannabis has been legalized in Canada, many employers may have questions on the effects of cannabis in the workplace, especially if they had not already implemented or updated a drug and alcohol policy for their workplace. The short answer is from a practical perspective; nothing much has changed. The issues that arise …
Cannabis in the Workplace | What Employers and Employees Need To Know Read More »
On January 31, 2020, the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency as a result of the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). On March 12, 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak was qualified as a pandemic. One hopes that the contagion will be successfully controlled, but it is prudent to make contingency plans to prepare for a …
Coronavirus Contingency Plans for Employers and Employees Read More »
Previous blog posts from Monkhouse Law have touched on the differences between provincially regulated employees and federally regulated employees. The short version is that, in Canada, some industries are federally regulated such that the employment relationship is regulated by the Canada Labour Code (the “Code”) rather than the equivalent provincial employment legislation. Perhaps most importantly, …
Federal Court Upholds Employee’s Right to Claim Unjust Dismissal After Signing Release Read More »
Has your job become unbearable? Are you thinking of leaving? Sometimes quitting your job can be the right solution, but it is important to do so in the right way at the right time in order to protect your legal rights while also allowing you to leave an unsafe situation. So what do you do …
Are you being harassed and bullied at work? Are you thinking of resigning? Read More »
The most frequent use of secret surveillance is when an employee is off work and collecting benefits due to an injury, and the employer or the insurer has reason to suspect that the employee is exaggerating. The employer will sometimes hire a private investigator, who will follow the injured worker around and take secret videos. …
There was a grim news report out of Switzerland last year about a scandal involving a major bank. The Credit Suisse bank was spying on one of its executives. The fallout from this included the firing of the bank’s chief operating officer. It may have contributed to the suicide of another individual who was involved. …