For most of us, the summer season brings with it opportunities to travel and enjoy the great outdoors. for students, summer represents a valuable opportunity to gain employment experience. Hiring a summer student or intern can help many lawyers and…
Generally speaking, fixed-term contracts allow employers to predetermine the date on which the employment relationship will end with an employee without the need to provide notice of termination or payment in lieu thereof. While this can seem as a beneficial…
Toronto’s extreme housing market has always been the talk of the town, but recently it has slowed down significantly. This slowdown has left many sellers with reduced bargaining power due to the increased number of properties available on the market.…
Many long-term disability insurance policies include provisions indicating that, under certain circumstances, you will not receive LTD benefits even if you have been found to be unable to work due to a medical condition. These are commonly known as exclusion…
When employees are terminated without notice, they are typically provided with a termination letter outlining what the employer is offering in terms of a monetary payout. It can be incredibly stressful to experience a termination and have to make decisions…
In Ontario, parties to a real estate transaction sign an agreement of purchase and sale (“APS”) which outlines the agreed upon terms between the parties involved, including among other things, the purchase price and closing date. If either party cannot…
In the employment context, the term “restrictive covenant” refers to terms in the employment agreement which attempt to limit what employees can do after the end of the employment relationship. Such terms may be enforceable where the employee quits his…
The Labour Relations Board clarified section 64 of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”). This section provides authority for when an employee is entitled to severance pay in Ontario upon termination. The applicable section reads as follows: Entitlement to severance…
When a person receives money or property without giving something in return, the law presumes he or she has an obligation to return it to the person from whom he or she received it. This presumption, known as the presumption…
When an employer terminates an employee’s job without cause, it will generally be required to either provide notice or termination pay in lieu of notice. Depending on the length of employment and the size of the employer, the employee may…
Surveillance evidence generally becomes relevant when policy holders are receiving LTD benefits, or when litigation is taking place where payment for benefits is being sought. This occurs where the insurance provider is attempting to prove that the policy holder is…
If a purchaser or seller fails to close a real estate transaction in accordance with the agreement of purchase and sale (“APS”), they may expose themselves to significant liability. The APS is a legally binding contract that provides certainty, obligating…
Subject to the policy requirements to provide timely proof of claim and to commence the claim within the relevant limitation period, if the incident or illness occurred or arose during the currency of employment, coverage will be provided and the…
From time to time, we meet with employees who have been given notice of termination and want to know what happens to their severance pay if they decide to resign during the working notice period. Are they still entitled to…
The best practice is to always lay out the terms of your agreement in writing. This is true for employment contracts as well. Generally, a written contract allows both the employer and the employee to have a clear understanding of…
In this Ontario Superior Court decision, Justice MacDougall considered the case of a manager who was demoted in title and had his direct reports removed from his supervision. The issue was whether this constituted constructive dismissal, especially considering that his…
Under the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 21.1, civil litigation trials in Toronto, Ottawa, and Windsor are subject to the mandatory mediation program. Under this program, actions that are subject to case management must be mediated by a private-sector…
Short Term (STD) or Long Term Disability (LTD) benefits provide income replacement benefits to workers who become temporarily or permanently disabled. In law, the LTD or STD insurance policy is a contract between the insured and the benefit provider. Under…
Unpaid internships are becoming more common in the labour market and are replacing entry level positions in various industries. Typically, unpaid internships have been the means of gaining experience in the television, film, and print media industries. Unpaid internships are…
The Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision Rahman v. Cannon Design Architecture Inc., 2022 ONCA 451 (“Rahman”) re-affirms the general rule that a contract, including an employment contract, must be interpreted objectively without considering the parties’ subjective understanding of its terms.…