Employment Agreements: Not Always Expired, Especially In Transaction Setting

One of the perceived benefits for employers of employment agreements is that they can save on severance costs. Indeed, fixed term employment agreements are often used to reduce, eliminate or provide certainty about the requirement to pay severance upon termination. However, as the recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Roberts v ZoomerMedia Ltd. 2016 ONSC 2426 illustrates, the actual conduct of parties to employment relationships will be crucial to determining legal obligations.

In 2007, Bill Roberts entered into an employment agreement with his employer, Vision TV, for a fixed term ending on October 31, 2011. This agreement also provided that Roberts was to receive two years' worth of salary at the end of the term of the contract, as well as a $150,000 sabbatical payment should his employment be extended beyond the end of the term. In 2009, the agreement was amended, and Vision TV and Roberts agreed that he would be entitled to a lump sum