What to do if Your Employer Stops Paying You

Posted on by Kevin Blair Posted in Unpaid Wages, BC Employment Standards Act

“My Employer Didn’t Pay Me, Now What?”

I often get calls from prospective clients who have not been paid by their employer for a period of time, sometimes as long as a few months. In some instances, the issue stems from the employer being a start-up company, and in other situations it can involve a medium to large company experiencing cash flow issues.

B.C. Employment Standards Branch

I advise these prospective clients to call the B.C. Employment Standards Branch (ESB) with respect to an unpaid wages complaint. Alternatively, the complaint can be made on the ESB website here. The ESB will assign an investigator to the complaint who can make an order against the company to pay the unpaid wages. Once an order is made by the investigator, the employee can enforce the order. Here, up to 2 months of unpaid wages can be enforced against the personal assets … Continue reading

Reference Check: A Negative but Honest Reference by a Former Employer may not be Actionable

Posted on by Brian Jacobson Posted in Reference Checks

A reference check is typically the last step in the application process that can make or break an employee’s chances of landing a job. For Adam Papp, his former employer’s honest reference cost him a job with the Government of Yukon.

Case Study

Mr. Papp worked for Stokes Economic Consulting, a private company. After a 2 year tenure with the company, it had to let him go for cost-cutting reasons. Mr. Papp was not terminated for just cause, but his interpersonal difficulties with others in the company impacted the decision to let him go. Nonetheless, Ernest Stokes, the company’s president, agreed to be a reference for him as he sought future employment.

In 2014, Mr. Papp was applying for a new position with the Government of Yukon. When Mr. Stokes was consulted for a reference, he shared his positive opinion of Mr. Papp’s technical skills. However, the Government of … Continue reading

Employment Contracts – Valid or Invalid?

Posted on by Ben Tarnow Posted in Employment Contracts

All employees have “legal contracts” with their employer, whether they are realize it or not.  Many employees do not have written employment contracts with their employers, while others do. For those employees bound by written employment contracts, there can be several legal obligations and rights that govern the employment relationship contained in an employment contract. One of these obligations is the amount of notice, or pay in lieu of notice (i.e. severance pay) that your employer must provide if your employment is terminated without cause. However, if a termination clause is legally invalid, then an employee’s entitlement to notice or severance pay is determined by common law factors – age, length of service, re-employability, amongst other factors.

Case Study

There are many potential legal arguments as why a termination clause will be invalid.  The law in this area is constantly evolving. In a recent Ontario Court of Appeal case, … Continue reading

When is a Resignation not a Resignation?

Posted on by David Goldberg Posted in Resignation

From time to time, emotions can get high in the workplace. Sometimes, this can result in an employee quitting in the middle of a fit or heated exchange.  But what happens when the employee attempt to resile from his or her resignation? A few recent cases have clarified the law on what constitutes a resignation at law.

Case Study – Johal v Simmons da Silva LLP

In Johal v Simmons da Silva LLP, 2016 ONSC 7835, a 62-year-old Plaintiff was employed as a senior family law clerk with the Defendant for 27 years, and she was the primary law clerk to Clark, a lawyer at the firm for the last seven years of her employment.

In June, 2015, Clark informed Johal that another law clerk would be responsible for Johal’s work.  The following day, Johal removed her personal belongings from the office and returned her security pass to Clark.  … Continue reading

Employee vs. Independent Contractor – Assessing the Modern Employment Relationship

Posted on by Brian Jacobson Posted in Workplace Disputes, Independent Contractors

One of the most common issues that arises in workplace disputes is whether an individual is an employee or independent contractor in law. It can be convenient for various reasons (tax, etc.) for employers and individuals to agree on a working arrangement that labels the individual as an independent contractor, but when the working relationship breaks down and the contractor is terminated, the individual could claim he or she is an employee at law, and thus entitled to severance pay. The British Columbia Supreme Court recently applied the “modern approach” to determining whether an employment relationship existed at law in Ventures Corp. v The Cambie Malone’s Corporation, 2016 BCSC 1521.

Case Study

Tim Fernback applied for the position of CFO which had been advertised as an employment opportunity by The Cambie Malone’s Corporation (“CMC”). After being selected for the position, Mr. Fernback proposed a working arrangement whereby he would … Continue reading