Illegal Termination Provision Buried in Confidentiality Clause Voids Otherwise Valid Termination Clause

If an employment contract contains language that purports to allow the employer to terminate an employee for cause- and such language contravenes Ontario’s Employment Standards Act- does it matter where such language appears within the contract?

In Henderson v. Slavkin et al., 2022 ONSC 2964, Justice Carole J. Brown of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice rightly found that it does not matter where within the employment contract the offending language is found- if the language is illegal, then it voids the whole of the termination provision.

Termination for “Cause” Provision Violates the ESA

Does a termination clause that only allows an employer to terminate an employee without notice for “just cause” comply with the provisions of the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000?

In the case of Khashaba v. Procom Consultants Group Ltd., 2018 ONSC 7617, the Honourable Justice Carole J. Brown of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice held that it does not.