It’s that time of year again! Holiday parties can be a wonderful way to celebrate, build relationships and morale, and relax a bit in the midst of a hectic season. They can also be a hotbed for HR complaints and incidents. We don’t want to spoil the fun! But we…
An estimated 20% of the Canadian population experiences mental health or addiction problems in any given year. These issues cut across age, income, race, gender, and cultural lines: no one is immune. While there is still stigma surrounding mental health and addiction issues, the reality is that these are very…
Finding yourself released from a job can be a shock, and it can leave you with a great deal of uncertainty. Severance packages protect the legal interests of your employer; they also give you a level of protection while you take the next steps in your career and life. But…
It’s Not Fair I’ve worked here for twenty years. Why did I get let go and Sheila in accounting didn’t? I did my job well, and they’re not even going to pay me what I’m worth in severance. When it comes to termination, “fair” is a loaded word. No, it…
One of our top lawyers, Maxwell Bauer, shared his employment law expertise with the CBC today as they took a closer look at a high profile case. Last year, “an arbitrator found Loblaws violated Ontario’s Employment Standards Act for not paying drivers overtime after the required 44 hours a week.”…
You probably won’t be too excited about this. But I am. As a family law lawyer, I have waited for a merger of our two present family law courts into one (hence the title “Unified Family Court” or “UFC”). The first and only UFC was set up in Hamilton in…
It’s Friday afternoon on a very steamy summer day. I have had a monumentally busy week drafting documents, meeting with clients, speaking with other lawyers, preparing for court and… just being my usual dedicated, hardworking family lawyer self. Our office staff have served us well as always. Time for a…
To get a ‘simple, uncontested’ divorce still involves a court application, although it is largely paperwork. If you have settled “kids, money and property” fairly and legally – for example by way of a Separation Agreement – your divorce application should be straightforward. If there are dependent children, you will…
Many recently first-time separated clients come to my office in Kitchener-Waterloo thinking about “divorce”. I often tell them that divorce is no big deal. The top separation issues are “kids, money and property”. If these have been settled fairly and legally, and the dissolution of the marriage is the only…
Constructive dismissal can be complicated. Just what is it? And what can you do if you find yourself in a constructive dismissal situation? Let’s take a closer look: What is Constructive Dismissal? It is a situation in which your employer does not directly terminate you, but unilaterally changes significant parts…
