Breach of duty of good faith when manager lured staff to another firm
Generally, unless an employee signs a non-competition agreement with their employer, they are free to leave their job and begin competing directly against this employer. However, every employee owes some “duty of good faith” to their current employer. The scope of this duty depends upon the role of the employee within the organisation. For employees with critical […]
Company directors can be liable for wages & benefits
What happens to employees when a company goes bankrupt? Usually, a receiver is appointed, assets are frozen, and employees might end up getting a small percentage of what they’re owed for wages because secured creditors are always first in line to be paid out of the company’s assets. But there’s a section in the Ontario […]
Be careful about relying on non-competition covenants
People often ask me about the value of non-competition covenants when they are thinking of hiring staff, especially salespeople. You don’t want someone working for you and then jumping ship to go work for themselves, or for a competitor.
Non-competition covenants have always been popular in employment agreements. But these covenants can be difficult to enforce unless […]
Employees & overtime pay
I came across a fantastic article today about the legal issues surrounding employees and overtime. It’s written by two Ottawa lawyers from Soloway Wright LLP, Alan Riddell and Marianne Keriakos. Anyone who has employees needs to understand what’s allowed and what isn’t as far as overtime is concerned. You can read the article at the Ottawa […]
Punitive damages for wrongful dismissal- Honda Canada vs. Keays
I don’t often write about employment law issues, but the Supreme Court released a signficant decision relating to the duty to accommodate at the end of last month.
Kevin Keays worked for Honda for a number of years, during which time he became disabled with chronic fatigue syndrome. He was on disability benefits until the benefits […]
