Labour and Employment Law Blog

Given that Canada Day falls on a Sunday this year, there appears to be some confusion among employers regarding which day attracts statutory holiday pay under the Employment Standards Act, (“the Act”). This year the Canada Day statutory holiday will occur on Monday, July 2^nd instead of Sunday, July 1st. This means that employees who have been employed for 30 calendar ...

In the fast-paced world of payroll, mistakes occasionally happen leading to overpayment of employees. It is tempting to correct such overpayment by simply deducting the overpaid amount from the employee's next paycheque. British Columbia employers may be surprised to learn that, except in certain circumstances, this method of recovery is impermissible.

Section 21(1 ...

On Monday April 9, 2018, B.C.'s provincial government introduced Bill 6, which amends the B.C. Employment Standards Act to provide for new and extended leaves for employees. Bill 6 is a preliminary step in the government’s intended overhaul of the Employment Standards Act, with further amendments expected to be proposed in the future. The new and extended leaves are ...

[This legislation has now been amended or replaced. Please see our subsequent blog post here.]

Bill 148, The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 received Royal Assent on November 27, 2017. This legislation would include significant amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”), the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Labour Relations Act.  ...

In a recent decision, Wood v. Fred Deeley Imports Ltd., 2017 ONCA 158, the Ontario Court of Appeal reversed a 2016 judgment of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that had found a termination clause in an employee’s employment agreement enforceable. The consequence for the employer was that, instead of 13 weeks’ working notice and a lump sum equivalent to eight ...