Hiring controls: a close look at managing the risks of hiring
Human capital is a firm’s most important and profitable asset. Recall Swiss banking giant UBS’ rogue trading disaster in 2011, during which the bank reported a $2.3-billion loss as a result of one man’s unauthorized trading. UBS’ chief executive officer resigned as a result, and the bank also lost two high-ranking executives who took indirect responsibility for the incident…
Occasional Contributors
5 minutes read
July 9, 2012 
Travelling for business – not all fun and games!
How often do your employees travel? If your answer is: “Not that often,” you may not have considered implementing a policy regarding work travel. More importantly, you may not have considered whether you are liable if something happens to a worker while they are travelling. Do you know how the new changes to Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act affect work travel and your employees?
Clear Path Employer Services
Lack of facts doesn’t keep a good judge down
In a recent decision from the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench, the judge considered the rights of an employer to claim compensation for an employee who had allegedly stolen a business idea. The facts of the case are not unique; indeed, they arise frequently in the give-and-take between employer and employee.
Earl Altman
Employee tips or other gratuities
In general, restaurant and bar patrons are expected to leave a tip amounting to approximately 15 percent of their total bill when dining out or drinking. However, we do so without asking ourselves how the money will be divided among staff members. Well, it seems in Ontario, it is a common practice for restaurants to require servers to share their tips and gratuities with their managers and the owners.
Marie-Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor
Worker injured in parking lot on way to work not eligible for workers’ compensation benefits
Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal has decided that a worker was not acting in the course of employment when she slipped and fell in the parking lot of the mall where she worked. As a result, she could not access workers’ compensation benefits; however, she retained her right of action in a civil suit […]
Christina Catenacci, BA, LLB, LLM, PhD
Denny’s temporary foreign workers employment standards class action suit gets certified
The British Columbia Supreme Court just certified a class action where the plaintiffs (foreign workers) allege that the employer failed to provide them with the amount of work promised, overtime pay and reimbursements for travel expenses and recruitment fees contrary to the Employment Standards Act. Also, the employees argued the employer breached the contract and its fiduciary duty, and was unjustly enriched for having the workers work without being paid. To top it off…
Christina Catenacci, BA, LLB, LLM, PhD
Why it is never a good idea to dismiss an employee by email
A human resource person in one of the largest insurance company in the UK mistakenly fired 1,300 global employees in its investment unit by email. The email asked them to turn over their security credentials and company property on their way out and to remember their contractual obligation pertaining to confidential information. Oops! The email was only meant to go to one employee.
Marie-Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor
We are not SHOUTING or SCREAMING! Font sizes and accessibility
Recently I sent an email in a medium-large font to someone who thought I was shouting. The reply I received was disturbing. The person was offended and read the information as if I was angry…
Suzanne Cohen Share
Video surveillance and the workplace – Part 2
A mixture of incognizance and apathy often prevails in the private sector when it comes to understanding and applying legal privacy considerations in the installation and use of video cameras…
David Hyde
