BC Employment Standards





Which statute applies to determine minimum requirements for notice or severance?





Are the notice and severance provisions in the Employment Standards Act all that an employer is required to give an employee when firing them without cause?





I have just hired a new employee and I put them on probation for 3 months. What is the significance of the probationary period?





If a company lays off 50 employees or more, does it have any extra obligations to its former employees?





What minimum standards does the Employment Standards Act set for notice or pay in lieu of notice of termination?





Do directors or officers have any personal liability for severance pay?





Is an employer required to provide notice and/or severance pay if the employer’s business closes down and they lay everyone off?





Our payroll staff has inadvertently overpaid some of our employees. Can we simply deduct the overpayment from future pay to those employees?





One of our employees has quit and he owes us money from a loan program we had to assist employees purchase a home computer. Can we deduct what that employee owes us from his final pay?

Canada Labour Code





Which statute applies to determine minimum requirements for notice or severance?

Collective Agreements / Grievances





My employee’s union has decided to drop or refuses to pursue their grievance against my company. Can my employee pursue the grievance themself?





Can an employee force their union to pursue their grievance?

Employment Agreements





I have asked all of my employees to sign an employment agreement. The employment agreement contains things that some employees do not agree with. Do they have to sign it?





Can I fire an employee if they don’t sign an employment agreement?

Human Rights





Can an employer fire an employee before, during or after their maternity leave?





A job applicant who did not get a job with our company suspects that they have been discriminated against. Can they make a Human Rights Complaint?





On what grounds can someone make a Human Rights complaint against an employer or a prospective employer?





Is there a minimum amount of time an employee must have worked for an employer before they are entitled to maternity leave?





How long does an employee or prospective employee have to bring a human rights complaint?





An employee has developed a medical condition and, on their doctor’s advice, has asked their attendance at work be excused for a period of time. What medical information is an employer entitled to ask for un order to verify this employee’s request?





Is an employer required to give an employee time off work as recommended by their doctor if they have developed a medical condition or injury?





An employee has developed a medical condition which requires change to some of their work conditions. Does an employer have to make these changes for their employee even if they don’t want to?





Can an employer refuse an employee’s request to accommodate their medical disability (temporarily or permanently)? What are the consequences for refusal to accommodate?

Maternity Leave





Can an employer fire an employee before, during or after their maternity leave?





Is there a minimum amount of time an employee must have worked for an employer before they are entitled to maternity leave?

Non-competition & Restrictive Covenants





In the absence of a non-competition agreement and restrictive covenants, is there anything employers can rely on to restrict former employees from competing with them?





Can an employer restrict an employee from competing with them once that employee’s employment is terminated?

Severance Packages





Is an employer required to give severance pay to an employee they terminated?





Can I require an employee that I terminated to sign a release as a condition that must be satisfied before I give them a severance package?

Wrongful Termination





Are the notice and severance provisions in the Employment Standards Act all that an employer is required to give an employee when firing them without cause?





Can I require an employee that I terminated to sign a release as a condition that must be satisfied before I give them a severance package?

Disclaimer:

This FAQ section is for informational purposes only, for the convenience of our visitors. While these questions and answers are about legal issues, they are not a substitute for consultation with a lawyer, and should not be relied on as a basis for any legal decision. As with anything of a legal nature, different circumstances can create different results.