In Bryant v Parkland School Division, 2022 ABCA 220, the Court of Appeal for Alberta (ABCA) allowed an appeal from a summary dismissal by the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta (ABQB) in Bryant v Parkland School Division, 2021 ABQB 391. The ABQB dismissed a claim made by three employees for common law reasonable notice because it found that the termination clause in the standard form employment contracts, which entitled them to “sixty (60) days or more written notice,” was not ambiguous. In allowing the appeal, the ABCA found the termination clause to be ambiguous. The ABCA referred the matter back to the ABQB for determination of common law reasonable notice, if the parties could not agree.
Background
Three long-term employees signed a standard form employment contract. The termination clause read as follows:
This contract may be terminated by the Employee by giving to the Board thirty (30) days or more prior written notice, and by the Board upon giving the Employee sixty (60) days or more written notice. [emphasis added]
When their employment was terminated with 60 days’ notice, the employees brought an action claiming common law reasonable notice.
Decision of ABQB
The lower court found that the words “or more” did not render the termination clause ambiguous “merely because an employee is unable to ascertain how much notice in excess of 60 days they may receive.” The court stated that on a plain reading, the clause provided for a fixed 60 days’ notice and allowed the...
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