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Ontario Court of Appeal: Decision on Evaluating Enforceability
of Termination Provisions
Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency
Authors: Rhonda B. Levy, Knowledge Management Counsel and Monty
Verlint, Partner – Littler Canada
On June 17, 2020, the Ontario Court of Appeal rendered a
decision pertaining to the enforceability of termination provisions
in employment contracts, providing that the proper method for
determining whether a termination clause in an employment agreement
is enforceable is to analyze the agreement as a whole rather than
on a piecemeal basis. If any termination provision in the agreement
is contrary to the requirements of the Employment Standards Act,
2000, all termination provisions in the contract will be considered
unenforceable, regardless of the existence of a severability
clause, which cannot be utilized to sever the
