Probationary Employee Dismissed

Probationary Employee Dismissed: Out of Luck Says ON CA Is a probationary employee entitled to wrongful dismissal damages? Can an employer contract out of these damages? Until now, most Canadian court decisions have held that even a probationary employee is... More

Probationary Employee Dismissed: Out of Luck Says ON CA Is a probationary employee entitled to wrongful dismissal damages? Can an employer contract out of these damages? Until now, most Canadian court decisions have held that even a probationary employee is entitled to wrongful dismissal damages. The exception is where the employer uses a properly worded contract. Generally, the contract must specify the length of the period and what, if anything, the employee will be paid if dismissed during the probationary period. An employee must be paid at least one week’s damages if the probationary period is longer than three months, since that is the amount specified by the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000. But the contract must specify how much the employee will be paid if dismissed after three months, while still on “probation.” Surprisingly, this was not the conclusion of the Ontario Court of Appeal in a recent decision. In Nagribianko v. Select Wine Merchants Ltd., the Court reviewed Less