Written by Michael J Weiler

Each year we report on how the courts have defined “reasonable notice” in the previous year.  For those employers who have binding written employment agreements that define the notice period on termination – congratulations!  Those agreements should be determinative, and therefore these decisions are not relevant.  But for the vast majority of employers who do not have such written agreements in place with their employees, the following summary will be very much relevant and should be of interest.

Courts will look at four key elements to determine how much notice is reasonable: age, length of service, position and the availability of similar employment having regard to the employee’s skills and qualifications.  The court will often look at economic circumstances but will not give that factor undue weight.  The highest period of notice, subject to a few exceptions, is 24 months. As noted below Ontario courts seem to be ready to break through that ceiling.  Please bear in mind the fact that each case will be decided on its own facts and there is no litmus test.  Furthermore, the amount of notice will not always equal the amount of damages as the employee must mitigate her damages and must also prove her losses (e.g. lost benefits or bonuses).

The following notable cases from 2018 will give you some idea of the courts’ present thinking on the matter.  There can be very important factors in each case especially dealing with senior executives whose compensation can often exceed $20,000 per month.  If you want to become a lawyer for a day, cover up the right-hand column and see how you do in assessing the notice periods:

Case Name Employee Position Income Age Period of Employment Notice Period
Pakozdi v B & B bidder/estimator $125,000 55 13 months 5 months
Firth v IBM not senior management but called him a “fiduciary”! $112,000 38 19 yrs 19 months
Dussault/Pugliese v Imperial Oil D–Manager Real Estate-not supervise but NB position $190,00 63 39 yrs 26 months
“Dussault” cont. P–Territory Mgr–not supervise but NB position $156,000 57 36 yrs 26 months
Kerr v Arpac Manager (no employees) $70,000 70 22 yrs 20 months
Pasche v MDE Enterprizes Sheet metal estimator $66,000 67 18 yrs 13 months
Tymko v 4-D Enterprizes Switchman / operator 52 3 yrs 2 months
Greenlees v Starline Windows salesman $100,000 43 6 months 6 months
Kok v Adera Natural Stone Ltd. s’or=senior management $131,000 54 27 years 22 months
Corey v Kruger Products maintenance s’or–first level of management $100,000 58 2 1/2 yrs 8 months
Ruston v Keddco Mfg President $278,000 + bonus 54 11 years 19 months
Chapple v Big Bay Landing Ltd Lodge Manager $85,000 61 26 months 9 months
Dawe v The Equitable Life Insurance Co Senior Vice President $249,000 salary + $379,000 bonus 62 37 years 30 months

 

Michael Weiler practices employment and labour law including human rights and prevention of workplace harassment/bullying and independent investigations; advising on the practical and legal issues affecting private family-owned businesses; and more – see his website at www.WeilerLaw.ca . Michael is a frequent seminar presenter and the assistant editor of Canadian Cases on Employment Law.  Michael can be contacted at mweiler@weilerlaw.ca  . For those who wish to receive articles, seminar notices and blog comments please contact Carolyn Weiler at cweiler@weilerlaw.ca  or call her at 604 336 7427.

  1. Disclaimer
    The content in the Michael Weiler Employment + Labour newsletters is for your general information and should not be taken as legal advice.  If you have a specific problem, please contact Michael Weiler to discuss your situation.