Long-term worker demanded severance pay after receiving notice of business winding down
“If you're trying to mitigate that risk of facing a claim of wrongful dismissal from a long-term employee, then you need to provide severance pay or notice of termination that's appropriate for the circumstances.”
So says Ryan Macklon, an employment lawyer at Vancouver-based Kent Employment Law, after a British Columbia court found that a long-term worker’s wrongful dismissal lawsuit related to her employer’s winding down of the business wasn’t just cause for dismissal – although filing it during the working notice period was a repudiation of her employment and reduced her lengthy notice entitlement.
Agricom International was a company that traded and exported agricultural commodities such as grains and oilseeds. In 1995, the owner hired the worker to be a merchandisor and logistics co-ordinator.
In 2019, Agricom had about seven employees. The business was facing challenges and the owner was thinking about shutting it down, but he decided to continue with a reduced workforce. All the employees were dismissed and the worker was given formal notice that her employment would end in 10 months on Dec. 31.
The worker said she would help wind down the company but she wanted another 14 months’ severance pay in lieu of notice, so the owner decided to keep her as the only other employee. In October, Agricom made a formal written offer of “new employment” for one year from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2020....
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