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Lecture 8
School
Western UniversityDepartment
Management and Organizational StudiesCourse Code
MOS 2275A/BProfessor
Philip KingLecture
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BIZLAW LECTURE 8 EMPLOYMENT
Employment Law
Every employment relationship is contractual…
…whether the contract is in writing or not
•Managing people is the most difficult and important thing you will
do
•Built-in inequality of power
1. Notion of voluntariness and things being equal is gone
•Various rules and principals added to regular contract law because
people need employment (ex:// to feed their families)
•What changed the labour landscape… (from what it was to how it
is now with safety nets)
1. Development of middle-class (after WWI)
•Had disposable income (more money than necessary
to survive)
•Said they were willing to give some money back to help
our the less fortunate, which lead to establishment of
programs protecting most vulnerable people
2. Involvement of women in politics
•Advocated for rights of vulnerable people (minorities,
children, women, people with disabilities, etc.)
▪Health and safety laws, employment standards,
etc.
3. Labour unions
•Theory that individual employees have no bargaining
power, but collectively they do
•Employers initial reaction to unions was violent (1920s)
Distinguish between EMPLOYMENT and INDEPENDENT CONTRACT
1. Vicarious liability --> with employee
◦Ex:// if your plumber injures themselves on the job then they
are liable, not you
2. Employment legislation
3. Income tax deductions
◦Do for employees, not independent contractors
•Courts will consider all relevant factors (1 & 2 are most important)
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4. Control test
•Who exercises control over the work that is done
•If it is person doing work, they are independent
contractor (ex:// plumber)
•If it is person that work is being done for, they are
employee (ex:// receptionist)
2. Organization test
•How integral is the person to your organization
•If they are central then they are an employee
3. All other factors
•Written agreement (not one of most important factors
however)
Obligation of Employers:
•Pay salary or wages
•Provide safe working conditions
•Honour employment contract
Obligations of Employees:
•Work competently, honestly
•Be punctual
•Be loyal
•Fiduciary duty (maybe)
Termination of Employment
"Just Cause"
•Employee has done something really bad, where employer can
treat employment relationship as over
◦Serious misconduct
◦Disobedience
◦Incompetence
◦Illness (not really)
•If illness is disability, terminating would be illegal
(discrimination), and employer has duty to
accommodate because of the disability
•Courts do not like it and there is high threshold to prove
•Burden of proof is on employer
•There must be warning that allows employee to improve prior to
termination in order for their to be cause
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