BC Supreme Court Denies Workplace Poisoning Claim For Constructive Dismissal

An employer must ensure that an employee's work environment is not so hostile that work becomes impossible or continued employment intolerable.¹ An employee may claim constructive dismissal where an employer breaches this responsibility, and if successful, may be awarded pay in lieu of termination notice and, possibly, aggravated and punitive damages.

In the recent decision Baraty v Wellons Canada Corp.,² the BC Supreme Court (the "Court") declined to find constructive dismissal on the facts, and in doing so, clarified employers' responsibility to maintain work environments free from "workplace poisoning".

Legal Framework

The leading Supreme Court of Canada case on the topic, Potter v New Brunswick Legal Aid Commission,³ identifies two "branches" of constructive dismissal.  The first branch focuses on whether a unilateral act by an employer, such as a demotion, substantially alters an employment contract such that an employee is effectively