Employment law Flashcards
whats employment law about
A contract of employment is a contract where a person, the employee, undertakes for a limited period to do work for the remuneration (payment) according to the instructions and under the direction, or control of another person – the employer
what are the two terms of employments
fixed term and indeterminate term
What is the duty of the employer
Health, Safety and dignity : the employer has the obligation to provide employees with a physically and morally safe working environment (clean, heating, lighting, safe from physical and emotional intimidation)
An employee may be subject to a non-competition clause. What’s that?
the parties may stipulate in writing and in express terms that even after the termination of the contract, the employee may neither compete with his employer, nor participate in any capacity whatsoever in an enterprise which would then compete with the employer
What are the duties of the employee
Fiduciary duty : employee has a fiduciary duty to employer – the employee is bound to not only carry on his work with prudence and diligence but also to act faithfully and honestly and not to use any confidential information he may obtain in carrying on or in the course of his work
Confidential information : all information relating to the employer’s business including client lists, pricing, intellectual property, financial information etc.
the information that you created as part of your work belongs to you or the employer?
Information that you, as an employee, created as part of your job, belongs to your employer
Must a non-competition clause be in writing and expressed terms?
Yes. it must be clearly written, there is no presumptions.
what are the 3 elements of a non-competition clause?
Time that you cannot compete
Places you cannot compete
Type of jobs that you cannot compete for
is the court more lenient with b2b or business to the employee for non-competition clause?
More lenient for a b2b scenario. In an employer-to-employee scenario, it’s an unbalanced negotiation since the employer has all the control and power. Oits rare for the court to enforce a non-competition clause.
Who must prove the 3 elements of a non-competition clause to the court?
The employer must prove to the court that all 3 elements of the clause are reasonable in their scope.
what are the 2 types of whistle blowing
internal and external whistle blowing
whats one example on an ethical recourse
whistle blowing
what is internal whistle blowing
an example would be where an employee tells his/her manager/supervisor, in good faith (part of their fiduciary duty), about a problem that is occurring in the business
what is external whistle blowing
an example would be where the employee’s internal complaint to his/her manager/supervisor was not acted upon by the company, and the problem has not been solved. The employee may wish to make his/her complaint/concern about the problem public, by advising the appropriate government agency
is external whistle-blowing considered a breach of fiduciary duty?
Under CCQ 1472 a person who whistle blows in good faith cannot be sued by the company for damages
what are examples of serious reasons for firing an employee
employee caught stealing, violent behaviour, habitual lateness, insubordination
what are the two options to do when an employer terminates an employee under undeterminate term
the employer has the option of giving the employee severance pay (equal to the notice period that the employee would otherwise have had to work) or give a notice.
do employees who get fired for serious reasons get a notice?
no. and no severance pay.