Canadian Employment Law Today

PM40065782 Emplo y ment Law Today Canad ad a ian www.employmentlawtoday.com January 23, 2019 No severance for worker who quit after notice Ontario Employment Standards Act requires employees who resign after receiving notice of dismissal to provide two weeks' notice for severance pay entitlement BY JEFFREY R. SMITH AN EMPLOYEE who was terminated after refusing to relocate and then quit during the notice period has lost his bid to receive sev- erance pay from his former employer. Jerome Devost was hired by IBM Canada in Ontario on Nov. 1, 2004. In January 2012, Devost asked if he could work from home if he moved to Quebec and the company agreed that the arrangement could work. He began working from home shortly thereafter and did so for the next fi ve years, receiving positive performance reviews. In August 2016, IBM sent Devost a letter informing him that the work he was per- forming was being moved to the company's offi ce in Ottawa, where IBM would have an integrated set of teams working together. As a result, the company wanted Devost to relocate to Ottawa where he could interact in person with his team and the other teams with whom it would be working. Devost was given 30 days to consider IBM's request. Devost interatced remotely with other IBM employees outside of Ottawa already, so IBM's proposal didn't make sense to him. He also wasn't ready to move, so he advised that he wasn't willing to relocate. IBM responded to Devost's answer by in- forming him on Sept. 15 that, since he was unwilling to work out of the Ottawa offi ce, his employment would be terminated in six months eff ective March 15, 2017. Devost tried to negotiate an alternate ar- rangement that could benefi t both himself Denial of personal leave for child care not discrimination: Tribunal Worker took 18 months of maternity and parental leave; unsuccessfully claimed family status discrimination when request for additional 12 months general leave was denied BY JEFFREY R. SMITH A BRITISH COLUMBIA worker's claim of discrimination based on family status re- lated to her employer's refusal to grant her additional leave following parental leave has been dismissed by the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal. Jana Durikova was employed as a store clerk for the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) of the provincial Ministry of Justice. She was hired in 2007 as a unionized worker with a collective agreement that allowed the option of extended childcare once parental leave had been completed. In July 2014, Durikova went on maternity leave followed by parental leave. When the leaves were used up after a total of one year, she used the extended childcare option in the collective agreement to take another six months off until January 2016. At the same time Durikova requested the extended childcare leave in June 2015, she Team leader not a manager: Adjudicator pg. 3 Bank employee performed administrative duties but had no real autonomy; Unjust dismissal complaint allowed to proceed Accommodation after legalization pg. 4 Legalization of cannabis hasn't changed employers' duty to accommodate medical version EMPLOYER on page 6 » WORKER FELT on page 7 » CREDIT: NADYAEUGENE/SHUTTERSTOCK with Tim Mitchell Ask the Expert pg. 2 Accommodating employee disability from off-duty conduct Ask the Expert Accommodating employee disability from off-duty conduct

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