Bonus Entitlement On Termination Of Employment

In the recent case of Fraser v. Canerector Inc., a 46 year old senior executive employed for 2.8 years asserted that he was entitled to his year end bonus on the termination of his employment in June, 2014. Mr. Fraser was earning a salary of $205,000 per year plus benefits and participated in an executive bonus program. He claimed that his bonus entitlement was an integral part of his employment contract. The history of bonuses which Mr. Fraser received was $50,000 for his first part year, $75,000 for his second year, and $175,000 for his last full year in 2013.

The court denied that Mr. Fraser was entitled to any bonus on the termination of his employment. Reasonable notice of termination in Mr. Fraser's case, as determined by the court, was 4.5 months. However, Mr. Fraser had found new employment quickly and was re-employed 11 weeks later. The court concluded that Mr. Fraser was not entitled to bonus monies for two reasons: