In Conway v. Griff Building Supplies Ltd.,
2020 CarswellBC 3112, an employee was found to have resigned
verbally during a meeting, despite failing to provide a formal
resignation letter. The Court considered the matter from the
‘perspective of a reasonable outside observer of the
parties' words and actions' at the meeting and in the
immediate aftermath. The letter was found to be a formality, and
the action was dismissed.
Conway worked for Griff Building Supplies Ltd.
(“Griff”) for over 20 years. The main issue was whether
he had resigned during a meeting on December 21, 2018, or whether
he was wrongfully dismissed shortly after. Conway maintained he did
not intend for his decision to be final until he delivered his
resignation letter and argued that a resignation is only legally
effective when the employee subjectively chooses to resign. To the
contrary, Griff maintained that Conway offered to resign during the
meeting, and Griff accepted that offer; the letter was
