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ARTICLE · 01 JUNE 2023

Does An Employee's Refusal To Return To Work In Person Justify Immediate Dismissal?

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In a recent decision[1], the Administrative Labour Tribunal (hereinafter the "Tribunal") concluded that an employee's refusal to return to work in person constituted an act of insubordination...

CanadaLaw Practice Management
Louis Thomas Bélanger
Louis Thomas Bélanger
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In a recent decision1, the Administrative Labour Tribunal (hereinafter the "Tribunal") concluded that an employee's refusal to return to work in person constituted an act of insubordination, but that the conduct was not serious enough to override the principle of progressive discipline and to allow the employer to invoke just cause to justify the dismissal.

Context

At the time of the events, the employee had been working for the employer as a purchasing and inventory clerk for nearly nine years. In the months that followed, during the lockdown imposed by the government in March 2020, the employer informed the employee and his spouse, who works for the same employer as the employee, of the need to do their work remotely.

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