Nearly 40 years of service ends in court battle over voluntary retirement versus dismissal
The Supreme Court of British Columbia recently dealt with an employment case involving retirement discussions that escalated into a wrongful dismissal claim.
The case centred on whether a long-term employee had voluntarily retired or was wrongfully terminated by his employer.
The worker, who had nearly four decades of service, argued that discussions about retirement were preliminary and flexible, never constituting a firm commitment.
He maintained he was pressured into agreeing to a retirement date and sought significant damages for wrongful dismissal.
The employer argued that the worker had voluntarily announced his retirement date, which was publicly communicated to the management team. They maintained that succession planning had already begun based on this retirement commitment.
The worker had nearly 40 years of service in the agricultural feed industry, holding managerial positions since 1992. He worked at companies with no formalised retirement process.
The worker was also a partner through a 2013 partnership agreement that required written notice at least two years before withdrawal.
In January 2021, when the worker was almost 63, he wrote to the general manager: "we should also probably discuss my retirement date … I don't want to over stay my welcome."
He explained he raised this topic because "65 seemed to him to be the magic number for...
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