Fundamentals of Employment Law in Ontario:

A Primer on the Common Law, the Ontario Employment Standards Act and the Ontario Human Rights Code

To effectively manage day-to-day operations you must understand the nature of the contract that stands at the heart of the employment relationship.  You also have to comply with the legislation that applies in Ontario - or face escalating consequences for non-compliance. The information presented in this course will familiarize you with the key concepts and the legislation so that you can deal knowledgeably and effectively with employees and comply with legal requirements.
     
You Will Learn: 

• About written contracts, implied terms and basic duties of employer and employee
• The concepts of cause and reasonable notice as they relate to termination
• How to distinguish between independent contractors and employees, and the risks involved in improperly characterizing those relationships
• The basics of the Employment Standards Act including pregnancy leave, parental leave, emergency leave, re-instatement, severance pay, notice
• The principles of reasonable notice and just cause at common law
• How to document your case and provide appropriate warnings
• What constitutes constructive dismissal
• The in's and out's of the Human Rights Code

The Program Will Cover: 
      
First Principles: The Employment Relationship As A Contract

•  Oral vs. written employment contracts
• The importance of written contracts
• Implied terms in employment contracts
• Basic duties of the employer and the employee
• Indefinite employment vs. employment for a term or task
• Termination: The concept of cause and reasonable notice 

Employees and Independent Contractors: Where is the Line Drawn?

• Not all contracts to perform services are employment contracts
• When a person is an independent contractor, and when she isn't: the legal tests
• The advantages of using independent contractors
• The significant risks of making mistakes
• How you can try to establish an independent contractual relationship 

The Ontario Employment Standards Act:

Part 1: Introduction, Pregnancy and Parental Leave

• What the Act deals with, who is covered, how it is administered, "greater right or benefit", contracting out of the Act
• Pregnancy and parental leave, qualifying periods, commencement, duration, rights during leave, the special case of adoption
• Implications for supervisors and managers accommodating the pregnant employee, reinstatement after leave, what happens if employee's job disappears during leave or if the replacement is a better performer 

The Ontario Employment Standards Act

Part 2: Termination of Employment

• The requirement to provide notice of termination and what happens when you do not
• Severance pay: a right distinct from the right to receive notice of termination
• Common exemptions from the requirement to provide notice and severance: term employment, willful misconduct, frustration, reasonable alternative work
• The relationship between the common law and the Employment Standards Act
• The basics of termination packages 

Termination of Employment at Common Law

• The concept of reasonable notice of termination
• Factors used in assessing reasonable notice
• The "just cause" exception - comparison to "willful misconduct"
• The importance of warnings and documentation
• Condoning misconduct and its impact on "just cause"
• Constructive dismissal
• How and when to terminate, and when you should not terminate
• The impact of the Wallace decision

The Ontario Human Rights Code and Its Impact on the Employment Relationship

• The prohibited grounds of discrimination
• Defining discrimination: the types of distinctions that are and are not lawful
• Whether the employer's intentions matter
• The meaning of "direct discrimination"

Human Rights - Harassment and Discrimination   

• "Adverse effect discrimination": neutral policies with discriminatory effects
• How equivalent treatment does not mean equal treatment
• Examples of policies that have been found to discriminate
• What do you do if your policy has a discriminatory effect?
• The meaning of "systemic discrimination"
• Racism and sexual harassment: What does it mean and what are you supposed to do about it? Liability of employer for the acts of its employees
• Defenses to discrimination:  The dubious status of the "bona fide occupational requirement" as a defense.