News & Analysis as of

Employment Contract › Termination › Canada

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Five Employer Wins and Counting: Is the Tide Turning?

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In a shift from the prevailing trend of employee-friendly case law regarding the interpretation of employment and compensation agreements, Canadian courts have recently issued a series of rulings in favour of employers. ...more

Littler

Ontario, Canada Court Confirms a Clearly Drafted Temporary Layoff Clause Can Protect Employers From Constructive Dismissal Claims

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In Taylor v. Salytics Inc., 2025 ONSC 3461, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice considered whether a temporary layoff provision in an employment contract constituted a termination provision, and was therefore subject to the...more

Stikeman Elliott LLP

Status Update: Ontario Court Upholds RSU Forfeiture Provision, Despite Employment Agreement Violating the ESA

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In the recent Wigdor v Facebook Canada Ltd. and Meta Platforms, Inc., 2025 ONSC 4051 decision (the “Decision”), which has not yet been reported, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice upheld the enforceability of restricted...more

Bennett Jones LLP

Ontario Court Confirms Temporary Lay-Off Clause Is Distinct From Termination Clause

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In Taylor v Salytics Inc., 2025 ONSC 3461 (Taylor), the Ontario Superior Court of Justice emphasized the importance of a substance-over-form analysis in the interpretation of employment agreements, concluding that a temporary...more

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

Attention Ontario Employers: Ontario Court of Appeal Upholds ESA Termination Clause in Bertsch v Datastealth Inc.

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In a rare but significant “win” for employers, the Ontario Court of Appeal confirmed that an employer can enforce a termination provision limiting an employee’s entitlements strictly to the minimum standards under the...more

Bennett Jones LLP

Termination Provisions and the Perils of Imprecise Drafting: Key Lessons from De Castro v Arista Homes Limited

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The Ontario Court of Appeal’s recent decision in De Castro v Arista Homes Limited, 2025 ONCA 260 (De Castro) provides Ontario employers with yet another reminder about the importance of clear and concise drafting in...more

Bennett Jones LLP

An “Exacting Standard”: the Enforceability of Termination Clauses and the “At Any Time” Conundrum

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Baker v Van Dolder’s Home Team Inc. (Baker) is the latest decision in Ontario to conclude that a termination provision permitting an employer to terminate, without cause, “at any time” is contrary to the Employment Standards...more

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

British Columbia and Ontario: Two Diverging Approaches to Interpreting Termination Provisions

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Overview - Employers increasingly face challenges regarding whether termination provisions in their employment agreements will be determined to be enforceable if challenged in court. As we continue to see increasing court...more

Stikeman Elliott LLP

The North American Trade Dispute: How to Manage Workplace Challenges for Canadian Employers

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As our readers will already be aware, since the new U.S. Administration took office on January 20, 2025, it has both proposed and implemented tariffs (the “U.S. Tariffs”) which have posed significant threats to the Canadian...more

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

Key Employment Law Considerations for Canadian Businesses Impacted by Tariffs

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As of this writing, the Trump administration has implemented a 25% tariff on most Canadian goods imported into the United States. Canadian governments at all levels are preparing relief programs for local businesses, but...more

Littler

Ontario, Canada Human Rights Tribunal Dismisses Probationary Employee’s Discrimination Claim

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In Karim v. Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, 2024 HRTO 1231, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) dismissed a probationary employee’s claim that they were discriminated against with respect to employment because...more

Littler

Ontario, Canada Court Finds Employer Repudiated Employment Agreement When it Failed to Pay Employee’s Contractual Severance

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In Timmins v. Artisan Cells, 2025 CanLII 2387, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice found, in an undefended claim, that the employers “by their correspondence and actions” repudiated the employee’s employment agreement when...more

Bennett Jones LLP

Employment Termination Clauses: Lessons From Singh v Clark Builders

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In a recent decision, the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta upheld a freely negotiated termination clause with a sophisticated employee despite evolution to the employee’s role over the term of employment. The employee’s...more

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

Sooner the Better: Employers in Canada Should Really Review Their Termination of Employment Clauses

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A recent Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) decision signals a pressing need for Canadian employers to review and consider updating their contractual termination of employment provisions. Otherwise, employers are at risk of...more

Stikeman Elliott LLP

Hungry for Consideration in Employment Agreements: Are Peppercorns Off the Menu for Employers?

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In the recent decision of Sui v HungryPanda Tech Ltd., 2024 BCSC 1856 (“HungryPanda”), the Supreme Court of British Columbia invalidated a termination provision in an employment agreement by finding the employer had failed to...more

Littler

Ontario, Canada Court of Appeal Agrees “For Cause” Termination Provision Was Unenforceable Because it Did not Comply with ESA’s...

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Applying prior precedent, the Court of Appeal for Ontario (OCA) in Dufault v. Ignace (Township), 2024 ONCA 915, upheld the Ontario Superior Court of Justice’s (OSCJ) finding that the “for cause” termination provision in an...more

Littler

Ontario, Canada Court Upholds Provision Limiting Employee’s Termination Rights to Minimums Under Employment Standards Legislation

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In Bertsch v. Datastealth Inc., 2024 ONSC 5593, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed an employee’s claim for common law reasonable notice of termination on a Rule 21 motion....more

Littler

Ontario, Canada Appellate Court Provides Guidance to Employers on How to Draft Employment Settlement Documents

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The Court of Appeal for Ontario found that settlement documents signed after an employee separated from employment prevented him from suing for the value of vested stock options....more

Littler

British Columbia, Canada Court of Appeal Affirms Enforceability of Termination Clause That Incorporated by Reference Notice and...

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In Egan v. Harbour Air Seaplanes LLP, 2024 BCCA 222, the British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) upheld a lower court’s decision that a termination clause in an employment agreement was enforceable because it was neither...more

Stikeman Elliott LLP

Tailwinds of “Common Sense” Buoy Employers: British Columbia Court of Appeal Upholds Simple Termination Clause

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In the decision of Egan v. Harbour Air Seaplanes LLP, 2024 BCCA 222 (“Egan”), the British Columbia Court of Appeal upheld a termination clause in an employment agreement, rejecting various arguments to undermine the clause’s...more

Littler

Ontario, Canada Appeal Court Affirms That Invalid Termination Clause Does Not Invalidate Fixed-Term Clause

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In Kopyl v. Losani Homes, 2024 ONCA 199, the Court of Appeal for Ontario (OCA) affirmed the lower court’s finding that an invalid without-cause termination clause in an employee’s employment agreement does not invalidate a...more

Littler

British Columbia Court Finds Termination Clause Enforceable Because it Complied with Statutory Individual Notice Provisions

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In Forbes v. Glenmore Printing Ltd., 2023 BCSC 25, the Supreme Court of British Columbia (BC) disagreed with the employee’s argument that the termination clause in his employment agreement was invalid because it required the...more

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

Better Late Than Never: Employers in Canada Should Review Their Termination of Employment Provisions

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Canadian employers should review their employment contracts and update them as necessary to avoid potentially costly problems upon separation of employment. Since early 2021 when the Supreme Court of Canada declined to...more

Bennett Jones LLP

Ontario Superior Court on the Enforceability of Termination Provisions in Employment Agreements

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A Question of Mixed Fact and Law - In a decision for which leave to appeal was denied by the Divisional Court, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently confirmed that a Rule 21 motion, seeking a determination of a...more

Littler

Ontario, Canada Court Confirms Employers that Revoke Accepted Employment Offers May be Liable for Damages

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In Kim v. BT Express Freight Systems (2020), 317 A.C.W.S. (3d) 255, Ontario’s Superior Court confirmed that an employer may be liable for damages if it withdraws an accepted offer of employment or terminates employment...more

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