Employee “Experience and Sophistication” Irrelevant to Contract Enforceability

Generally speaking, Ontario employees are entitled to receive reasonable notice of their dismissal from employment (subject to situations where the parties have agreed in writing an alternate lawful entitlement in this regard).

A recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal (Rahman v. Cannon Design Architecture Inc.) confirms this applies even where an employee is sophisticated and experienced (having business savvy or having negotiated terms of employment). In such circumstances, despite the employee having perhaps had greater bargaining power, the employer will be unable to rely on this fact to fix an otherwise unlawful contract and avoid providing reasonable notice of dismissal.

In a recent contribution to First Reference Talks (a collaborative HR and employment law advisory blog), Paul Willetts considers the Cannon decision in greater detail along with a subsequent case (Campbell-Givons v. Humber Hospital) that confirms employee sophistication as irrelevant to whether an employment agreement will be found enforceable.

Click here to read the full article.

Vey Willetts LLP is an Ottawa-based employment and labour law boutique that provides timely and cost-effective legal advice to help employees and employers resolve workplace issues in the National Capital Region and across Ontario. To speak with an employment lawyer, contact us at: 613-238-4430 or info@vwlawyers.ca