In Nova Scotia, employees with ten years of service are provided
with special protections under the Labour Standards
Code. Section 71 of the Code provides that, subject to
certain exceptions, an employer can only dismiss an employee with
ten years of service or more for just cause. This is called the
tenured employee rule.
A finding that an employer violated Section 71 can have serious
consequences. In addition to the potential time and cost involved
in defending a Labour Standards complaint, the employer may be
ordered to reinstate the employee and provide them with back pay
and benefits, or to pay damages to the employee.
In the past, many employers in Nova Scotia chose to dismiss
tenured employees without cause despite the risk of a Section 71
complaint. These employers would offer the employee a severance
package in exchange for a release, with the assumption that the
release would shield them from Section 71 liability. However, in
November, 2014, the Labour
