ENSC-406 Simon Fraser University Employment Law in British Columbia • Edited/Modified/Presented by: Bob Gill, P.Eng Purpose • Introduce you to the “rules” of employment in British Columbia • I want you to have an idea of your rights as an employee and as employer Outline • Common law (judge made law) • Employment law statutes • Employment contracts Common Law • These are rules created by judge’s decisions • These rules are implied in your employment relationship • You can contract out of some of these rules (more on this later) Common Law - Reasonable Notice of Termination • Employer must provide reasonable notice to employee to terminate employment, unless the employer has just cause. • If they do not provide enough notice they can be sued for wrongful dismissal Common Law - Reasonable Notice of Termination • Must be clear and unequivocal • Ex 1: “You are doing a bad job. You should look for new employment.” • Ex 2: You receive a memo saying “You have six months to improve your performance or else you are fired” Common Law - Reasonable Notice of Termination • Factors for notice • • • • Age Length of service Character of the employment Ability to find comparable re-employment given the training and education of the employee Common Law - Reasonable Notice of Termination • Can range from 0 to 24 months Common Law – Just Cause • The #1 defense to wrongful dismissal claims • Fact specific analysis Common Law – Just Cause • Where the employee commits behavior that goes to the root of the employment contract with the result being that the relationship is too fractured to continue. Common Law – Just Cause • • • • • • • Theft Dishonesty Willful disobedience Insubordination and Insolence Conflict of interest Incompetence Absenteeism Common Law – Constructive Dismissal • Employer cannot unilaterally change a fundamental term of employment • Not always straightforward • Intolerable work environment? • Criticism or constructive dismissal? Common Law - Mitigation • Employee has the duty to mitigate his or her damages • In the case of a termination without notice, this means look for another job • In the case of a constructive dismissal, this means maybe accepting the changed position while looking for new employment Common Law – Duties of Employees • General duty of good faith • Fiduciary duties: • legal or ethical relationship of trust between two or more parties. • Duty of confidentiality • Duties may continue after employment Statutes • Four main employment statutes • Employment Standards Act > http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/00_96113_01 • Labour Relations Code > http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/00_96244_01 • Human Rights Code > https://www.workbc.ca/WorkBC/media/WorkBC/Documents/Docs/Human-Rights-Code.pdf • Workers Compensation Act > http://www.bclaws.ca/Recon/document/ID/freeside/96492_01 Employment Standards Act • Applies to every employee and employer in BC, unless exempted • Engineers and engineers in training are exempt Employment Standards Act • ESA contains minimums for • • • • • Hours of work and overtime Leaves Annual Vacation and Jury Duty Statutory holidays Termination of Emploment and Severance Labour Relations Code • Governs relationship between employer and unions • How to unionize • Right to unionize • Collective bargaining obligations • Right to strike, lockout and picket • How to decertify Human Rights Code • Protects employees against discrimination • Protected grounds: age, sex, sexual orientation, race, religion, colour, ethnic origin, marital or family status, disability, conviction unrelated to employment Human Rights Code • Employers have a duty to accommodate to the point of undue hardship Workers Compensation Act • Governs workplace health and safety • Two general parts • Injury reimbursement • Workplace safety requirements • You cannot sue for getting injured at work Employment Agreements • Set out key terms of employment relationship • When reviewing, look for the following: • • • • • Term of contract Nature of relationship Remuneration Restrictive covenants Termination provisions
