Labour Relations and Employment Law: Termination for Wilful Misconduct

This report examines the intricacies of labour relations and employment law in Canada, specifically focusing on termination for wilful misconduct. It delves into the legal framework, including the Employment Standards Act 2000 and relevant legislation, outlining the duties of both employees and employers. The report highlights the concept of wilful misconduct, detailing various forms such as rule violations, insubordination, and negligence. It also explores the rights of unionized employees, particularly the Weingarten rights, and the roles of managers and HR advisors in the termination process. Furthermore, the report discusses the steps involved in addressing grievances, including meetings, investigations, and the involvement of arbitrators, providing a comprehensive overview of the procedures and legal considerations surrounding termination for wilful misconduct in the Canadian context. Access this report on Desklib for a comprehensive understanding of the subject.

Running head: LABOUR RELATION AND EMPLOYMENT LAW
Termination for Wilful Misconduct
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note

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Table of Contents
Answer to question 1..................................................................................................................2
Answer to question 2:.................................................................................................................3
Answer to question 3..................................................................................................................4
Reference:..................................................................................................................................6

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Answer to question 1
The purpose of the assignment is to point out the workplace grievances that are
common but important in nature. There are certain rules regarding the proper management of
the employment relationship and the management has to take careful mentality to deal with
certain sensitive issues like termination of the employees (Banks, 2016). In Canada, there are
two types of employment relations can be seen- unionised and non-unionised. The principle
of fairness at work is depending on the employment relationship and employees have certain
duties while performing their job. It has been mentioned under the Employment Standard
Act 2000 that the employees should maintain a proper working environment during the
course of their business and if they have failed to do so, the employer may terminate them
(Mohamed, 2014). A similar situation has cropped up in this case
It has been mentioned by Leanne E. Standryk that duty to work is the base of
every employment relationship. It is a common rule that the employees will get their
remuneration if they perform work and their stability is depending on the way of working. It
is the duty of the employers to manage the workplace environment in a systematic way and
concentrate on the performance of the employees (Apaza & Chang, 2017). There are certain
legislations dealing with the employment-based problems in Canada such as Employment
Standards Act 2000, Ontario Human Rights Code, Workplace Safety and Insurance Act and
Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Wilful misconduct by an employee arose when the employee has made violation to
the employment rules. A wilful misconduct may happen such as negligent act, bad intention,
and intentional disregard to the interest of the employers by various ways. If an employee is
terminated from his post due to wilful misconduct, he shall not be able get any benefit from

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the employers (Lusty, 2014). In this case, it has been observed that his employer is
terminating the employee on the ground of wilful misconduct.
Following are the types of wilful misconduct that may take place during the work
session by the employees:
The employers can treat tardiness or irregularity as wilful misconduct when the
employees are repeated it irrespective of the warning. In every company, there are certain
employment rules present to regulate the performance of the employees. When an employee
violates the rule knowingly, it can be treated as wilful misconduct (Amato-Gauci et al.,
2017). If an employee violates the standard of behaviour and ill-treats the employer, it causes
wilful misconduct. If an employee acts in negligent and damage the property of the
workplace, it can be considered as wilful misconduct. Except these provisions, unsatisfactory
work performance by the employee and use of drug during the working hour can also be
treated as wilful misconduct.
Answer to question 2:
In Canada, the unionised employees are enjoying certain benefits and rights. The
rights are particularly known as the Weingarten right. These rights are exercised on the
workers who are governed by the collective bargaining agreement (Southey, 2014).
According to this right, the employees can appoint a union representative on their behalf to be
present in the meeting. Therefore, it is the duty of the managers to take care of these rights of
the employees in case of any misconduct. The managers are playing an important role
regarding the allegation of grievance regarding the termination of an employee over wilful
misconduct. He has to take care of every rights of the unionised employee and follow the
rules in a systematic manner.

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The HR advisors are also playing an important role regarding the termination of an
employee. They will talk to the employee regarding the termination clauses and can represent
the griever or the complainant at the meeting on request. The employers are getting support
and advice from him regarding the grievance (Simon, 2014). It is the duty of the HR
supervisor to keep the discussion private and provide effective strategic plans to resolve the
matter in dispute.
Answer to question 3
It can be stated therefore that in case of terminate a unionised employee in Canada,
meeting is an inevitable thing. The purpose of the meeting is to talk about the rights of the
unionised employee and the misconduct performed by him during the job and to resolve the
disagreement in a fruitful manner. Meeting facilitates the communication in between the
management and the employees. It is duty of the manager to decide a specific time for the
meeting and inform the employee and his representative regarding the same. The manager
should take care of the disciplinary action and follow the legislation in an appropriate manner
so that the rights of the employees regarding the Weingarten rights could not be violated. The
meeting can be conducted by the supervision of the manager and HR advisor. If the meeting
is not getting succeed or resolve the matter in dispute, the next step for the manager can be to
go to the Arbitrators for a better result.
According to Employment Standard Act, if an employee is not satisfied regarding
their standard right, they can ask for an investigation. The meeting process regarding the
termination of employee has three steps (Estreicher & Hirsch, 2013). In the last step,
arbitrators are given the power to investigate into the matter and resolve the dispute. The
Labour Relation Code and Human Rights Code are the governing legislation in this case. The
managers should speak to the arbitrators regarding the investigation. The investigation should

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be made by appropriate persons and in the presence of both the parties. The private issues
should be remained confidential in nature.
The grievance response should be written in a uniform way. There should be
certain provisions and all must be written with perfect clarification. It is always advisable to
first conduct a preliminary assessment of the complaint and determine what it is about. The
nature of the complaint and the parties involved will dictate a number of secondary
considerations and responses, in terms of how urgently the complaint must be dealt with and
whether external law enforcement should be involved or not. The response will also cover
whether an internal or external investigator is appropriate and the amount of resources that
should be allocated to the investigation, and what specialized expertise may be required. The
policies are to be chalked out in a systematic manner and the disclosed documents should be
mentioned in the response note.

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Reference:
Amato-Gauci, L., Hearn, G., Stoll, K., Reive, J., & Fernandes, R. (2017). FIRM AND
INDUSTRY NEWS.
Apaza, C. R., & Chang, Y. (2017). Effective Whistleblowing Conceptual Framework.
In Whistleblowing in the World (pp. 1-8). Springer International Publishing.
Banks, K. (2016). Reasonable Accommodation As Equal Opportunity in Canadian
Employment Law.
Blyschak, P. (2014). Corporate Liability for Foreign Corrupt Practices under Canadian
Law. McGill Law Journal/Revue de droit de McGill, 59(3), 655-705.
Estreicher, S., & Hirsch, J. M. (2013). Comparative Wrongful Dismissal Law: Reassessing
American Exceptionalism.
Kanamugire, J. C. (2014). The Impact of the Companies Act 71 of 2008 on the Traditional
Director’s Duty to Avoid Conflict of Interest. Mediterranean Journal of Social
Sciences, 5(9), 75.
Lusty, D. (2014). Revival of the common law offence of misconduct in public office. Crim
LJ, 38, 337-363.
Mohamed, A. A. A. (2014). Dismissal from Employment and the Remedies. LexisNexis.
Simon, P. (2014). Termination of Employment in England and Canada (Doctoral dissertation,
University of Toronto (Canada)).

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Southey, K. (2014). Contributory misconduct reductions in unfair dismissal
remedies. Australian Bulletin of Labour, 40(1), 24.