In the recent decision of Covenoho v. Pendylum Ltd., the Ontario Court of Appeal awarded a former employee of Pendylum 40 weeks' pay ($56,000.00), overturning the ruling of the Motion Judge at summary judgment.
Q&A is a recurring series on the Vey Willetts LLP blog. The aim is to provide quick answers to questions we commonly encounter in our day-to-day practice of employment law. In this edition we focus on employee sick leave and medical information.
Recently, Lloyd’s of London implemented a ban on employee drinking between the hours of 9am and 5pm on work days. Traditionally, the “boozy lunch” had been a big part of Lloyd’s culture. It was the preferred vehicle to seal deals and woo clients. As such, the change in policy came as a shock to the 800 employees impacted by the ban, and it was met with open hostility.
Vey Willetts lawyer Paul Willetts was quoted in the March 6, 2017 edition of The Lawyer's Daily in an article entitled "Big changes could be on Way for Ontario workplace landscape." The article discusses the provincial government's Changing Workplaces Review and some of the changes employees and employers in Ontario may expect to see.
There are few areas of employment law more in flux (and vexing to lawyers) than that surrounding the enforcement of termination clauses. Part of the frustration is when the Courts provide seemingly contradictory messages on whether termination clauses will be upheld. In January 2017 alone, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released two decisions that appear, on their face, to be somewhat at odds.
On February 6, 2017 the Ontario Bar Association Labour & Employment Law Section published an article by Vey Willetts' lawyer Andrew Vey. The article, entitled "Summary Judgment Motions for Wrongful Dismissal: An Update", looks at four recent Ontario court cases to assess the use of summary judgement as a tool in employment law litigation.
Vey Willetts LLP was recently successful on a motion for summary judgment, seeking increased severance for an employee who had been wrongfully dismissed. In its decision, Vinette v. Delta Printing Limited (2017 ONSC 182), the Superior Court significantly increased Mr. Vinette's severance entitlement from 8 weeks to 15 months.
The capacity to send and receive email on smart phone devices and laptops has fundamentally altered the working lives of many. The notion of the ‘9 to 5’ job has, in many industries, become a thing of the past. Our use of email has profoundly altered how and when we work: it has blurred the distinction between work and home lives; it has altered our view of what is appropriate communication and our expectation of how quickly people should respond. In many ways, it has simultaneously increased the volume of workplace communications and dramatically accelerated the pace at which it occurs.
