Alberta court clarifies ‘casual employee' status in wrongful dismissal appeal
Back in 2023, when challenged by a wrongful dismissal claim, an Alberta employer claimed an individual who worked on and off for their company for nearly 25 years was a casual employee — and the applications judge agreed.
But this was recently overturned on appeal, as the Court of King’s Bench awarded the individual 18 months’ notice concluding that she was, in fact, a permanent employee.
This kind of situation is rare, which is why it makes for an interesting case, says Daniel Jonasson, employment lawyer at Bow River Law in Calgary.
“There's a relative absence of case law on this. So, this was a very useful case in that it laid out quite clearly a lot of the principles that a court will consider when making the determination.”
“The court, in applying such a contextual interpretation, really leaves a lot of room open for employees who have unconventional working relationships to still be deemed permanent employees and thus to still be entitled to that higher presumption of severance.”
But it's important to remember that no factor is determinative, and courts will always look at the exact specifics of the case, says Jonasson.
“Which is why one piece of advice I'd give to HR professionals is, if they are considering the termination of an employee, look at it on a very factual level, a specific basis. Don't apply a formula or a rubric to it. Look at the particular facts of the case and consider what...
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