A Job For Life: Not Just For Laughs!

In a decision dated July 13 of this year, Justice Marc Saint-Pierre of the Quebec Superior Court ordered that an employee who had been guaranteed a job "for life" by his employer be reinstated (Gloutnay v. Rozon, 2022 QCCS 2578). This judgment creates a precedent in Quebec civil law by calling into question the idea that an employment contract is for a limited term and holding that an ordinary court has the power to order, in a purely civil action, that an employee be reinstated. This is a rather surprising idea, in which the Court of Appeal may take an interest.

Summary of the decision

The plaintiff André Gloutnay was employed as an archivist by the Just for Laughs Group Inc. (the "Employer"). In 2019, when Mr. Gloutnay was 53 years old and had 25 years' service, his employment was terminated, since the Employer no longer required his services. He received severance pay equivalent to 12 months' salary.