(c) istock/kellyvandellen
When is a contract to cover someone’s maternity leave a fixed-term employment contract? That was the question that the Honourable Justice Sidney N. Lederman of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice was asked to resolve in the case of Ballim v Bausch & Lomb Canada Inc., 2016 ONSC 6307.
In short, the answer is: While an indefinite contract with a termination clause is just what it sounds, so is a “one-year contract”. The lesson for employers is be careful what words you use.