Termination reasonable notice and frustration - definitions Flashcards
What is repudiation of contract?
A breach of contract that demonstrates an intention by the party to treat the contract as at an end and to no longer be bound by the contract.
What is an ‘at will’ employment contract?
An employment contract in which either party may terminate the contract at any time, for any or no reason, with no notice to the other party.
This is the default model in the United States.
What is the Bardal factor?
A criterion considered by Canadian courts in assessing the length of time required by the implied obligation to provide ‘reasonable notice’ of termination of an employment contract.
The name comes from the leading decision called Bardal v. Globe & Mail Ltd., decided in 1960.
What is inducement in employment law?
A factor considered in assessing the length of reasonable notice that should be awarded to an employee whose employment contract is terminated by employer A after employer A encouraged or enticed the employee to quit a prior job with company B.
What is self-induced frustration?
When the actions of the employer or employee make it impossible for the contract as originally envisioned to be performed. The courts have refused to apply the doctrine of frustration to self-induced frustration.
What is innocent absenteeism?
An employee’s absence from work due to reasons that are not blameworthy, such as illness, disability, or religious observance.
What is summary dismissal?
Termination of an employment contract by an employer without notice to the employee in response to a serious breach of contract by the employee.
What is an implied contract term?
A default contract term invented by common law judges and read into an employment contract when the written terms of the contract do not address the specific issue.
What is the balance of probabilities?
An evidentiary standard of proof requiring evidence that it is more likely than not that an incident occurred.
What is the principle of proportionality?
The test applied by the courts in summary dismissal cases that assesses whether the termination of an employee’s contract without notice is an appropriate response to the employee’s misconduct.
What is a mitigating circumstance/factor?
A personal or workplace-related factor that helps explain or justify an employee’s behaviour.
What is a wilful breach of contract?
A deliberate, defiant, or premeditated violation of the requirement(s) of a contract.
What is cumulative just cause?
Grounds for summary dismissal based on an accumulation of wrongful acts by an employee over a period of time.
What is a culminating incident?
The final breach of contract by an employee following progressive discipline that the employer relies on to justify termination of an employee for cause.
What is the duty to warn?
A requirement for employers to warn employees that their behaviour or performance is unacceptable and to give them a reasonable opportunity to correct their performance.
What is progressive discipline?
The application in stages by employers of progressively more serious discipline to correct performance problems.
What is condonation?
When a party that could have treated the employment contract as having been repudiated elects not to treat the contract as being repudiated.
What is a specific penalty clause?
A term in a contract that defines the penalty that will result as a consequence of a specified breach of contract.
What is time theft?
When an employee falsely claims wages for time not actually worked.
What is gross incompetence?
A level of employee performance that falls far below that expected of a reasonably competent employee.
What is insubordination?
A breach by an employee of the implied or expressed term of an employment contract requiring the employee to obey an employer’s orders.
What is insolence?
An overt expression of defiance by an employee to the authority of the employer.
What is frustration of contract?
The termination of a contract caused by an unforeseen event that renders performance of the contract impossible.
What is the duty to accommodate?
A legal requirement in human rights law to take steps to remove discriminatory barriers to employment.
