Labour and Employment Law

It is fairly well known that, under art. 2091 of the Civil Code of Québec, an employer must give reasonable notice when terminating an employee without a serious reason. Too often, however, we forget that this article imposes a similar obligation upon an employee who resigns without a serious reason. A recent decision reminds that […]

Citizens sometimes consider government structure reorganizations as cause for headaches. However, those may also have clearly positive impacts, as we can see from this example. Prior to January 1, when an instance of psychological harassment caused an employment injury, a worker could be involved in two proceedings, with distinct objects, but where the same witnesses […]

Violence, harassment and personal conflicts at work are delicate situations where the employer may be overwhelmed by the problem, and thus be hard-pressed to solve it. If you are an employer facing such circumstances, chances are that you will be in a dilemma: you know that you need to act as a neutral investigator, yet […]

Perhaps you have already been in the situation where the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail [“CNESST”] files a complaint for dismissal without a good and sufficient cause1 under s. 124 of the Act respecting labour standards [“L.S.A.”] as well as a civil suit for dismissal without […]

Three years ago, you hired a sales rep. You drew an employment agreement defining the compensation, working schedule and vacations. Since the rep was to occupy a strategic position in your company, you inserted non-competition and non-solicitation clauses into the agreement. Finally, you stated that the agreement would be limited to a three-year duration, and […]

Last spring, the federal government caused quite a stir within trade unions with the adoption of Bill C-525, that tightened the rules for the accreditation of a union while facilitating the revocation of certification. The Bill came into force on June 16, 2015. In April, RSS had issued a bulletin on this amendment. The new […]

Collective agreements frequently contain clauses providing that tasks normally performed by workers in the bargaining unit cannot be performed by employees who are not members of the unit. Drafting these clauses requires special care. For a long time, grievance arbitrators have interpreted such clauses restrictively and limited their scope to the establishment to which the […]

The recent tragic events in Paris have triggered a lot of discussion. It is therefore not unlikely that your employees would discuss those events and express their thoughts or opinions before third parties — including your customers. Certain basic rules still apply, notwithstanding the highly charged emotional context… Click here to read a commentary by Jacques […]

Your business operates under the Canada Labour Code? You’ll probably want to take note of recent changes on the certification and revocation of a trade union and on the calculation of the holiday pay for general holidays. Changes in rules on trade unions On certification — As of June this year, a trade union seeking to […]

The number of files presented to the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (“CSST”) by workers who allege having sustained psychological damage injury is on the rise. Such a condition may allow the worker to obtain compensation, provided he has suffered an “employment injury” under the law. But how can working […]