Pitfalls In Termination Clauses

Employment contracts often contain termination rights of the parties. In particular  there is often a clause permitting the employer to terminate on a certain period of notice.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario in the February 23rd decision in Wood v. Fred Deeley Imports Ltd reminds us that the presumption of reasonable notice in employment termination situations can be modified by agreement to a different notice period. But, and this is the part to note, any such termination agreement or clause is only enforceable if it complies with the minimum standards in the Ontario Employment Standards Act. If the termination agreement does not meet those standards the termination clause  is void and the usual common law reasonable notice principles apply.