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10 No rule of thumb for severance Oakville Beaver Weekend Sunday August 27, 2000 Does a penchant for puzzles give certain people an advantage in the field of tax preparation? It's possible. Working with numbers, managing money and preparing taxes are much like solving a good puzzle pleasant work that's both challenging and rewarding. If you enjoy solving puzzles and have a desire to help others, take the H&R Block Income Tax Course. It's designed for people who want to increase their tax knowledge and save money on taxes, and who may be looking for a second career or seasonal employment. ©2000 H&R Block Canada, Inc. After completing the course, you may even have the chance to interview for employment with H&R Block* For more information or to register, call 1-877-229-6112 or 1-905-333-1212 or visit our website at www.hrblock.ca 'Completion of the axrse is neither an offer nor a guarantee of employment. H&R BLOCK M ost people believe the appropriate am ount o f notice o r pay in lieu o f notice they should receive upon being d ism issed from em p lo y m en t w ith o u t cause, is roughly one m onth o f rem uneration for every year o f service. T his rule o f thum b, how ever, is no longer a rule o f thum b courts recognize. An em p lo y ee's length o f service is only one o f m any factors a court considers when determ ining the appropriate am ount o f notice or pay in lieu o f notice upon dism issal w ithout cause. Today we will look at one such factor that w ill affect the sufficiency o f notice. It relates to the effect o f an em p lo y er's prom ise o f jo b security. To illustrate this point, we turn to the 1997 B ritish C olum bia C ourt o f A ppeal decision in R obertson v. W eavexx C orp. In early 1993, R obertson w as w orking at a com petitor o f W eavexx. W eavexx knew R obertson w as a very effective salesperson but was an individual w ho w ould not hesitate to leave an em ployer for a b et ter offer. M r. T aylor, head o f W eavexx, a p p ro ach ed R obertson w hile he w as w orking at the co m p etito r and suggested he co n sider filling a vacancy at W eavexx in the sales and m arketing departm ent. R obertson said in evidence at the trial he was open to hearing about the offer but had tw o conditions: satisfactory rem unera tion and recognition o f prior service for pension pur poses w ith tw o o f W eavexx's corporate predecessors. T here w as evidence at trial o f tw o discussions betw een W eavexx and R obertson in w hich R obertson expressed the hope he w ould stay w ith W eavexx until he w as retired som e 11 years hence. T he ev id en ce at trial also in d ic a te d W eavexx e x p ressed its d esire th at R o b ertso n not leave the com pany p rio r to his retirem ent. R obertson w as then offered the position and co m m enced w ork at W eavexx in F ebruary 1993. F ive m onths after starting w ork at W eavexx, R o b ertso n 's e m p lo y m e n t w as te rm in a te d due to a co rp o rate restructuring. The Law R o b e rtso n w as o ffe re d the of life eq u iv alen t o f tw o m onths o f his rem u n eratio n as dam ag es for w rongful d ism issal. H e sued, arguing his em ploym ent contract w as fo r a fixed term o f l l years and he was entitled to dam ages fo r the rem ain d er o f the term . T he trial ju d g e agreed w ith R obertson. W eavexx appealed. On appeal, the co u rt found the trial ju d g e m isc o n stru e d the e v id e n c e re g a rd in g R o b e rtso n 's com m itm ent to stay at W eavexx until his retirem ent. T he co urt found R o b e rtso n 's ex pression o f his desire to stay w ith the com pany until retirem ent, did not am ount to a term o f the co n tract. T hus, the court found R o b ertso n 's em p lo y m en t w as not a fixed term co n tract and thus could be term in ated w ithout cause upon reasonable n o tice o r pay in lieu. T he co u rt found, even though R o b ertso n 's co m m it m ent not to leave w as not a term o f the co n tract, it was sufficiently sig n ifican t and in co njunction w ith the inducem ent factor, ju stifie d an in crease in the reaso n able am ount o f notice to 12 m onths. LESUE J. SMITH Leslie J. Smith is a partner with the Haxell-Smith Law Offices in Oakville. Her column appears regularly in the Oakville Beaver. ^ R C 'S QiuifUiy FIREWOOD ALL NATURAL · BAGGED OR BULK TO P QUALITY « PICK-UP OR DELIVERY Triple Mix Black Loam (Peat) Cattle Manure (No Bedding) Compost/Manure Mix · · · · `Topso; Econo Mulch Sheep Manure Sand Screened Topsoil a t T r a f a lg a r R d ., "A business who's reputation has been built on quality and service" 351 Dundas St. E. 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