Avoid the two-step dance when offering employment
Sometimes, during the hiring process, an employer may opt to send an initial job offer and then, once accepted, follow up with a more detailed set of terms. This procedure, while seemingly innocuous, can prove to be high risk, carrying with it the potential for significant and unintended liability. An employer may find itself unable to rely on the ‘follow-up’ set of terms and be stuck with the deal set out in its initial job offer.
Consideration: Why it Matters for Your Employment Contract
Using arbitration clauses in employment agreements
Tell me More: OLRB Clarifies Employer Duty to Report After Harassment Investigation
The Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”) requires provincially-regulated employers to have in place (and review annually) a written policy addressing workplace harassment. The OHSA defines ‘workplace harassment’ as “engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome.”
2024 legislative changes affecting Ontario-based employers
We are not yet at the halfway point of 2024. Despite this, both Queen’s Park and Parliament Hill have already been quite busy creating new rules that will apply to employers with operations in Ontario. In this article, we highlight a few of the major changes announced in the Working for Workers Five Act, 2024 and the 2024 Federal Budget and summarize how these may impact your organization.
Employee Rejection of Comparable New Job Backfires
The purpose of severance is to bridge the gap while a person is unemployed and looking for a new job. As we often tell clients, severance is not intended to provide a windfall. When a person is dismissed from a job, they have an obligation to make reasonable efforts to offset the losses stemming from their dismissal (referred to as the “duty to mitigate”). In the right circumstances, this may include accepting an alternate offer of employment with the same employer or pursuing a reasonable opportunity that has been brought to their attention.
