Termination Clause Unenforceable Where Falls Below Statutory Requirements

The recent decision of Miller v. A.B.M. Canada Inc., 2014 ONSC 4062 involved a claim for wrongful dismissal damages in which the Plaintiff successfully argued that a contractual termination provision was unenforceable.

On the facts, the employee signed an employment contract at the time of hire stating that, "Regular employees may be terminated at any time without cause upon being given the minimum period of notice prescribed by applicable legislation, or by being paid salary in lieu of such notice or as may otherwise be required by applicable legislation."

The employee was given a letter of termination which provided him two weeks of salary in lieu of notice inclusive of a car allowance. Alternatively, the employee was offered four weeks of salary plus car allowance if that offer was accepted by a particular deadline (not clear whether this was in exchange for a release). Because the employee failed to accept the letter by the stipulated deadline, he received two