Employee, dependent contractor.

Yes, we have fixed-term employment contracts and indefinite terms employment contracts.

Certain clauses may be invalid and unenforceable if they do not meet the minimum statutory requirements of the Employment Standards Act, or by reason of undue duress, unconscionability, or lack of consideration.

Yes, part-time employees are afforded the same rights as full-time employees.

Employment contracts can be assigned with consent, or as provided for in an employment agreement.

A sale of assets may give rise to termination at common law. However, employees have a duty to mitigate and if the purchasing entity offers employment on similar terms and conditions, the employee's duty to mitigate will be engaged. Different considerations may apply if there is a fixed severance provision in the employment agreement.

There are statutory successorship provisions in both the Employment Standards Act (non-union) and the Labour Relations Code (union).

If the employer unilaterally alters a fundamental term of employment to the employee's detriment (e.g. lowering salary or demoting the employee), that can give rise to a constructive dismissal. The employee has the option to either accept the change or leave employment and sue for constructive dismissal. If the unilateral change is not to a fundamental term of employment, the same considerations would not apply.

No, we are not an employment-at-will jurisdiction. If an employer wishes to terminate an employee without cause, the employer must provide reasonable notice or pay in lieu of reasonable notice, or the amount of notice or severance specifically provided for in the employment agreement. A termination provision in an employment agreement must at least meet what is required under the Employment Standards Act or it will not be enforceable.

Yes, an employee who is terminated without cause may sue for wrongful dismissal to obtain damages. Unionized employees may seek reinstatement under the Labor Relations Code.

Employees who work in certain public sector organizations are covered by whistleblower legislation. In addition, some employers have whistleblower policies that protect whistleblowers.

Yes, employees in British Columbia have statutory privacy rights under either the Personal Information Protection Act (for private-sector employees), or the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (for public sector employees). Employees who believe that their private information has been collected, used, or disclosed contrary to the legislation may file a complaint under the applicable legislation.

Yes, the British Columbia Human Rights Code prohibits discrimination in employment on numerous grounds. Currently the prohibited grounds of discrimination are as follows: Indigenous identity, race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, political belief, religion, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or age of that person or because that person has been convicted of a criminal or summary conviction offence that is unrelated to the employment or to the intended employment of that person.

There are statutory rights to vacation, vacation pay, parental leave, maternity leave, and other leaves (such as family responsibility leave, compassionate care leave, reservists' leave, bereavement leave, COVID-19 related leave, jury duty, leave to care for critically ill or injured family members, leaves respecting the disappearance or death of a child, and leaves respecting domestic or sexual violence) under the Employment Standards Act. The Employment Standards Act also provides a statutory right of up to five paid days and three unpaid days of leave in each employment year for eligible employees for personal illness or injury. 

Further, the Human Rights Code prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability and provides that employers have a duty to accommodate employees with disabilities. 

In the last 12 months, there have been legislative changes under the BC Workers Compensation Act that impose new statutory duties on workers and employers in instances where workers are on a leave as a result of a work-related injury. Workers and employers have a duty to cooperate with each other to faciliate the worker's return to work following a workplace-related injury. In certain circumstances, employers also have a duty to maintain an injured worker's employment following a leave which resulted from a workplace-related injury.  

Yes, restrictive covenants are recognized. Our courts will readily enforce restrictive covenants dealing with confidential information and properly drafted non-solicitation clauses. Non-competition clauses are much more difficult to enforce, though they may be enforceable in certain situations (dealing with high-level employees).

A refusal to sign a restrictive covenant would generally not be just cause for termination, and so any termination in this situation would be without cause and would require notice or pay in lieu of notice. Consideration can be anything of value.

Contributions to the Canada Pension Plan are required.

No, certain benefits are not mandated by our jurisdiction.

No, it is not permitted to have a mandatory retirement age in our jurisdiction.

Yes. While the Human Rights Code prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of age, it creates an exception for bona fide retirement plans, pension plans, and insurance plans.

In relation to the COVID-19 pandemic it was held that in certain circumstances and industries, employers could implement a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy subject to demonstrating bona fide health and safety reasons for doing so and otherwise complying with applicable laws including accommodation obligations under the Human Rights Code.

Assuming an employer could lawfully implement a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy, they may be able to terminate an employee who refuses to get the vaccine on grounds not protected by the Human Rights Code (though there is the potential, for example, that employers may have to consider alternative means to termination such as an unpaid leave of absence, which the courts have considered reasonable in some circumstances).”

Generally, employers in British Columbia should be able to require employees to return to the office subject to:

• applicable public health and occupational health and safety orders and laws; and
• whether any employees otherwise have contractual rights to telecommute.

If an employee refuses to return to work (assuming the foregoing conditions are not an issue), the employer may be able to terminate their employment, potentially for just cause.

To facilitate an orderly return to the office, employers should consider providing employees with advance notice of the date they are expected to return to the office.