Dismissed “Vice President” Awarded Just Two Months Pay in Lieu of Notice – Despite Title, COVID-19 Pandemic

Is the title “Vice President” sufficient to move the needle in the calculation of reasonable notice?

In George v. Laurentian Bank Securities Inc., 2020 ONSC 5415 (CanLII), counsel for the dismissed employee urged the court to find that there is a presumption at common law that senior management or executives who are wrongfully dismissed are entitled to a minimum of 12 months’ notice irrespective of the length of service. He cited Mulrooney v Terra Nova Brokers Ltd., CanLII 3970 (NL CA), Felice v. Cardinal Health Canada Inc. 2014 ONSC 1190 (CanLII) and Lovely v. Prestige travel Ltd., 2013 ABQB 467 (CanLII), for this proposition.

For reasons given and summarized below, the Honourable Madam Justice Susan Vella of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice disagreed – awarding only two months’ pay in lieu of reasonable notice or $11,359.98 gross of taxation.

Mooch Ado About Nothing: Being Fired Before You Begin

Can you be fired from your job before you even begin it? As preposterous as that question may sound, that was the very question with which the Supreme Court of British Columbia found itself faced in the case of Buchanan v Introjunction Ltd., 2017 BCSC 1002 (CanLII).

Requirement to Purchase Shares Signalled Employer’s Intention to Create Long-Term Employment Relationship: ONSC

How does requiring an executive to purchase shares in his employer’s company affect the employee’s reasonable notice period in the event that his employment is terminated without cause? According to the Honourable Mr. Justice G.E. Taylor of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the answer is that it tends to length the notice period.

In the case of Rodgers v. CEVA, 2014 ONSC 6583 (CanLII), Mr. Justice Taylor held that, “Based on the required investment in [the employer] I find there was at least an implied representation that the plaintiff was about to embark upon a long-term employment relationship with [his employer.]

Ontario Court Awards Four Months Notice to Employee Fired while “On Probation”

Are employees whose employment is terminated while “on probation” entitled to common-law reasonable notice? A Small Claims Court decision from 2012, Cao v. SBLR LLP (2012), 217 A.C.W.S. (3d) 871, 26 D.E.L.D. 172 (ON SCSM), serves as an important reminder that the answer from Ontario’s courts can sometimes be a resounding yes.

ONSC Awards Four Months Notice to Employee With Less Than One Year of Service

What is the appropriate notice period for an employee dismissed after less than one year of employment? While the answer will always be “it depends,” in a decision released today by the Honourable Justice Catherine D. Aitken of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice sitting at Ottawa, Wellman v. The Herjavec Group Inc., 2014 ONSC 2039 (CanLII), the reasonable period for an employee who had worked for only 51 weeks was found to be four months.