Our firm is often retained by employees and employers to provide advice on dismissal entitlements. One of the first places we look in this regard is to the parties’ written employment contract (if one exists). Employers have an incentive to implement written contracts as a means of limiting future dismissal costs. For similar reasons, contracts often come under heavy scrutiny by employees (and their lawyers) whenever a job termination takes place.
Equity compensation is one of the fastest growing categories of employee pay. More and more Canadian workers are seeing some form of employer-issued equity (via stock options, restricted share units, employee purchase plans, etc.) offered as part of incentive compensation packages. However, little attention tends to be given to the fine print that accompanies equity pay.
Most employment contracts operate for an indefinite period. Lesser seen are fixed term agreements. The latter are most often used in the context of a sale of business and in the not-for-profit sector (where funding is frequently tied to time-limited grants). Regardless of their underlying motivation, fixed term contracts come with significant risks for employers.
