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ARTICLE · 19 AUGUST 2011

The HR Space: Gratuitous Payments In Pension Plan

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On June 21, 2011, in Canadian Jewish Congress v. Polger, the Court of Appeal of Québec overturned a decision of the Superior Court that had ordered an employer to pay pension benefits based only on an alleged practice and without proper written documentation to that effect.

CanadaEmployment and HR
Lyne Duhaime
Lyne Duhaime
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The HR Space is edited by Lyne Duhaime, Karen M. Sargeant and Brian P. Smeenk.

On June 21, 2011, in Canadian Jewish Congress v. Polger, the Court of Appeal of Québec overturned a decision of the Superior Court that had ordered an employer to pay pension benefits based only on an alleged practice and without proper written documentation to that effect. The pension benefits in this case were deemed to be gratuitous payments only, not required to be paid to all departing employees by virtue of policy or practice.

The Facts

Polger and Smajovits had worked for the Canadian Jewish Congress for 36 and 22 years respectively when they were dismissed following a reorganization. Not surprisingly, they sued for termination pay. They included in their action a claim for supplemental pension benefits that they said were not provided in their defined contribution pension plan.

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