Employment Law 

We advise both employers and employees on all facets of the employment relationship, from the preparation and negotiation of the employment contract through to the termination of the employment relationship, negotiating severance agreements and litigating wrongful and constructive dismissal claims.

We offer specialized advice in many areas of employment law, including wrongful dismissal, pay equity, human rights, and Employment Standards issues. We provide assistance both in negotiating individual employment contracts and severance contracts. We take pride in our record of successful advocacy before arbitrators, tribunals and Courts.

We recognize that it is in the client’s interest to avoid costly litigation, and we have responded by helping clients minimize their potential liability. Often the best way to do so is in the negotiation and preparation of the initial contract of employment between the company and the employee.

Ontario lawyer, Maureen Currie, has been practicing law for 21 years and has assisted in negotiating employment contracts and resolving many cases of employee dismissal. She has extensive experience in Canadian employment law, including claims for:

• wrongful dismissal
• unfair dismissal
• constructive dismissal (unfair demotion or change in working conditions, including pay reductions)
• harassment
• bad faith discharge

and has been instrumental in negotiating reasonable and favourable severance packages and employment contracts.

Employee Claims

Our firm has represented clients whose wrongful dismissal has been by way of:

• termination of employment with compensation being only that set out in the Employment Standards Act. We have found that employees are often entitled to many times more than the amounts set out in the Ontario Employment Standards Act

• termination for cause where actions did not warrant ending the employment relationship

• changing the working conditions or job description such that it amounts to constructive dismissal

• termination where the employer has not followed proper procedures in ending an employee’s employment


• harassment and mental distress claims arising out of the workplace environment

If you’ve been fired or laid off, or are about to be, we can help determine if you are entitled to compensation for wrongful dismissal and the proper legal steps to recover it.

We can also review your severance package to determine if it is fair and reasonable. If you have been fired or dismissed from your job, you may have several important questions, such as:

• can your employer fire you?
• were you entitled to prior notice that you were going to be dismissed?
• can you get severance pay?
• can you sue for wrongful dismissal?
• what are your obligations following severance to your former employer

We can help answer those questions.

You should know that the Employment Standards Act protects employees who lose their job. You should remember that you may have two separate entitlements; first, your rights under the Ontario Employment Standards Act; and second, your rights under the contract of employment. Your contract rights may be greater than your rights under the Employment Standards Act - even if you don’t have a written contract. But regardless, your contract rights cannot provide a lesser benefit than the Employment Standards Act.

Employer Concerns

Be aware of how to

• properly discipline an employee
• determine if the threshold of just cause has been met. In that regard an important case was released recently demonstrating just how high the hurdle of "just cause" can be
• document human resources files to protect company interests in the event that a termination is necessary
• prepare and execute an employment contract
• properly prepare severance packages that are reasonable and would be acceptable to a Court should it be challenged
• address harassment issues in a proper manner
• deal with the continually absent employee