Jobs often change as businesses grow, restructure or introduce new technology. An employer may update procedures, redistribute related tasks or ask an employee to take on reasonable new responsibilities.
However, there is a major difference between adjusting your job and replacing it with a substantially different position.
The Quick Answer: Can your employer change your job description in BC? Minor and reasonable changes may be allowed, particularly when the new duties remain within the general scope of your position. However, a substantial change to your core responsibilities, authority, title, status or compensation could be constructive dismissal in BC.
BC’s Employment Standards Act provides minimum rights when a condition of employment is substantially altered. Non-unionized employees may also have separate and potentially much greater rights under common law, including a full severance package.
On This Page:
- 1. Can Your Employer Change Your Job?
- 2. Changes Without Consent or Notice
- 3. Additional Duties Without More Pay
- 4. Title Changes, Demotions and New Roles
- 5. Minimum Standards and Common-Law Rights
- 6. What Should You Do?
Can an Employer Change Your Job Description in BC?
Yes. Employers generally have some flexibility to make reasonable changes to the work an employee performs.
For example, your employer may be allowed to update work procedures, introduce new software, reassign related tasks or ask you to temporarily cover some of a colleague’s responsibilities.
The legal concern arises when the employer substantially changes the nature of your employment.
| Changes That May Be Reasonable | Changes That May Be Significant |
|---|---|
| Adding related tasks within your existing role | Moving you into a substantially different occupation |
| Updating procedures, systems or technology | Removing management authority or direct reports |
| Providing temporary coverage for a colleague | Requiring you to perform what amounts to a second job |
| Making an administrative title adjustment | Assigning duties requiring completely different skills |
What determines your actual job duties?
Your written job description is important, but it isn’t always the complete employment agreement. Your role may also be defined by:
- Your employment contract and offer letter
- The original job posting
- Promises made when you accepted the position
- Workplace policies
- The duties you have regularly performed
- Your authority, reporting relationships and seniority
- The employer’s established workplace practices
A court or the BC Employment Standards Branch may consider the employment relationship as a whole rather than relying only on one written document.
What does “other duties as assigned” mean?
Many job descriptions state that an employee may be required to perform “other duties as assigned.” This wording can give the employer flexibility to assign related or incidental work.
It doesn’t necessarily provide an unlimited right to turn your position into a completely different job.
For example, an “other duties” clause may support asking an office manager to help with another administrative process. It may not justify removing the employee’s management role and reassigning them to an unrelated position.
Can Your Employer Change Your Job Without Consent or Notice?
Your employer may not need your consent for every minor adjustment. However, consent becomes far more important when a proposed change affects an essential condition of your employment.
A substantial role change imposed without your agreement could breach your employment contract and potentially amount to constructive dismissal.
Can your employer change your job role without your consent?
Your employer can generally make reasonable changes that are permitted by your employment agreement and remain within the general scope of your position.
It may cross the line if the employer:
- Moves you into an unrelated occupation
- Removes the duties that defined your position
- Takes away management or decision-making authority
- Changes your professional status or career path
- Requires you to accept substantially different working conditions
Can an employer change your role without consultation?
BC employment law doesn’t require formal consultation before every routine workplace adjustment.
However, imposing a substantial permanent change without discussing it, explaining it or obtaining agreement can create a serious legal issue. It may also make it harder for the employer to argue that you consented to the new arrangement.
Can your employer change your job description without notice?
There is no general BC rule requiring a fixed number of days’ notice before an employer makes a minor change to a job description.
A substantial change is different. Your employer may need your agreement or may have to provide reasonable advance notice that the existing employment terms will end and new terms will take effect.
The amount of notice needed for a major permanent change can depend on your employment contract and the circumstances of your employment. Simply handing you a new job description may not be sufficient.
What counts as consent?
Consent can be express or implied.
- Express consent: You clearly agree verbally or in writing to the change.
- Implied consent: Your conduct suggests that you accepted the change, such as working indefinitely under the new terms without objecting.
Continuing to work for a short period while asking questions or getting legal advice doesn’t necessarily mean that you accepted the change. However, waiting too long can weaken your position.
Can your employer force you to change roles?
An employer can propose a different role and ask you to accept it. The company may also decide to terminate your employment if you refuse, provided it gives you the proper notice or severance pay.
What an employer may not be able to do is immediately impose a substantially different and adverse position while treating the employment relationship as unchanged.
Can an Employer Add Duties Without Compensation?
Yes, in some circumstances. BC law doesn’t require an automatic raise every time an employer adds a task or responsibility.
Your employer may assign reasonable additional duties that fit within your existing position and compensation arrangement. This is especially true when the work is related, temporary or relatively minor.
However, keeping your salary unchanged doesn’t give the employer an unlimited right to transform your job.
Change of job description without a change in pay
A job change can be significant even when your salary stays the same.
The law can also consider factors such as:
- The nature of your responsibilities
- Your authority and decision-making power
- Your title and professional standing
- The skills required for the new work
- Your reporting relationships
- The effect on your career and advancement opportunities
A demotion, major loss of responsibility or transfer into an unrelated role can potentially be constructive dismissal without any reduction in pay.
When do additional duties become a legal problem?
The change may be substantial when your employer:
- Requires you to perform two full-time roles
- Permanently transfers another employee’s core job to you
- Adds major management responsibilities without recognizing the new position
- Assigns specialized duties outside your experience or training
- Dramatically increases your workload or accountability
- Changes the role so extensively that it is no longer the job you accepted
What if the new responsibilities require longer hours?
Additional duties don’t remove your right to be paid properly for the hours you work.
Employees who are eligible for overtime pay in BC must generally receive time-and-a-half after eight hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. Double-time may apply after 12 hours in a day.
A major increase in workload combined with longer hours, reduced compensation or an unreasonable schedule may also strengthen a constructive-dismissal claim.
Job Title Changes, Demotions and Different Roles
Your salary isn’t the only important part of your employment. Your authority, seniority, professional reputation and opportunities for advancement can also be essential conditions of the job.
Can your employer change your job title without telling you?
A purely administrative title change is generally less likely to create a legal problem when your duties, authority, compensation and status remain the same.
A title change may be more serious when it:
- Makes your position appear less senior
- Reduces your standing with clients or colleagues
- Affects future promotion or employment opportunities
- Comes with reduced authority or responsibility
- Signals that you have been demoted
The practical impact of the change matters more than the words used in the new title.
Is a demotion legal if your pay stays the same?
A demotion can potentially amount to constructive dismissal even if your salary doesn’t change.
For example, the change may be significant if you lose:
- Direct reports
- Decision-making or signing authority
- Important clients or accounts
- Membership on a management team
- Responsibility for a department or business function
Can your employer move you into another department?
A departmental transfer isn’t automatically unlawful. It may be reasonable when your duties, skills, pay, authority and professional status remain substantially similar.
It may be more serious when the new department requires fundamentally different skills or places you in an objectively less senior, less secure or less prestigious position.
Does company restructuring change your rights?
No. A legitimate restructuring may explain why your employer wants to change your position, but it doesn’t automatically remove your legal rights.
The central question remains whether the employer substantially altered the conditions of your employment and whether it had the contractual right to make the change.
BC Minimum Standards vs. Common-Law Constructive Dismissal
Employees in British Columbia may have two separate sets of rights when an employer substantially changes their job:
- Minimum rights under the BC Employment Standards Act
- Potentially greater constructive-dismissal rights under common law
What does section 66 of the BC Employment Standards Act mean?
Section 66 of the BC Employment Standards Act allows the Director of Employment Standards to determine that an employee was terminated when the employer substantially altered a condition of employment.
A substantially altered condition could involve a major change to duties, pay, authority, responsibilities, benefits or working conditions.
If the Director determines that the employee was terminated, the employee may receive the minimum compensation for length of service required by the Employment Standards Act.
That statutory compensation is based on length of service and is generally capped at eight weeks.
What is common-law constructive dismissal?
Common-law constructive dismissal is a separate legal claim based on court decisions and the employee’s employment contract.
It can occur when an employer makes a substantial change to an essential employment term without the employee’s agreement.
Potential examples include:
- Moving a manager into a non-management position
- Removing most of an employee’s core responsibilities
- Assigning work that requires completely different skills
- Taking away authority, direct reports or senior status
- Requiring an employee to perform two substantially different jobs
- Combining a role change with a major pay reduction
- Making several smaller changes that collectively transform the job
Constructive dismissal can result from one serious change. It can also result from a series of actions that show the employer no longer intends to honour the employment agreement.
BC Employment Standards Act vs. common law
| BC Employment Standards Act | Common Law |
|---|---|
| Section 66 allows the Director to treat a substantial job change as a termination | A court can treat a substantial job change as constructive dismissal |
| Provides minimum statutory compensation | May provide a much larger severance package |
| Generally capped at eight weeks | Can reach as much as 24 months in appropriate cases |
| Administered through the Employment Standards Branch | Generally pursued with an employment lawyer through negotiation or court |
Does section 66 limit your common-law severance?
No. The eight-week maximum under the Employment Standards Act doesn’t automatically limit a non-unionized employee’s common-law rights.
Common-law severance is often much greater than the statutory minimum. Depending on factors such as your age, position, length of service and the availability of similar work, you may be owed as much as 24 months’ compensation.
However, an enforceable employment contract may limit an employee to minimum employment standards. Have a lawyer review the contract before assuming that your entitlement is capped.
Learn more about common-law and severance pay in BC.
What Should You Do if Your Job Description Changes?
Your response to the change can affect your employment and severance rights.
- Save the old and new job descriptions. Keep your offer letter, employment contract, original posting, performance reviews, emails and organization charts.
- Compare the actual positions. Identify changes to duties, authority, title, reporting relationships, pay, hours, location and promotion opportunities.
- Ask whether the change is temporary. Request written confirmation of why the change is being made and how long it will last.
- Object promptly if the change is substantial. State professionally that you haven’t agreed to a permanent change in your employment terms.
- Don’t sign immediately. A revised contract or job description could be used as evidence that you accepted the new arrangement.
- Don’t resign before getting legal advice. An employment lawyer can determine whether the change is reasonable, a breach of contract or constructive dismissal.
Do you have to accept changes to your job description?
You may be required to accept minor and reasonable changes that are permitted by your employment agreement and remain within the general scope of your job.
You don’t necessarily have to accept a substantial and adverse change to an essential employment condition. However, that doesn’t mean you should immediately stop working or resign.
Can you refuse work outside your job description?
Not automatically. Refusing a reasonable and lawful instruction can lead to discipline, even when the exact task isn’t listed in your written job description.
You may have stronger grounds to challenge the work when it is:
- Unsafe or unlawful
- Outside documented medical restrictions
- Discriminatory
- Part of a substantial change to your employment
- Far outside the skills and responsibilities of your position
Instead of simply refusing the assignment, ask for clarification, explain your concerns in writing and get legal advice.
Can you be fired for refusing a new role?
Your employer may be able to end your employment without cause if you refuse a proposed role, provided the company gives you the proper notice or severance pay.
Refusing a reasonable instruction may also expose an employee to discipline. However, refusing a substantial and unauthorized change doesn’t automatically justify a termination for cause.
An employer also can’t terminate or punish you for discriminatory reasons or because you exercised a right protected by employment standards, human rights or workplace safety laws.
What if the new duties conflict with a disability?
A job change may raise a human rights issue if the new duties conflict with restrictions connected to a disability, medical condition, pregnancy or another protected ground.
Your employer may have a duty to accommodate in BC to the point of undue hardship.
Provide reasonable medical information about your restrictions and ask for accommodation in writing. You generally don’t have to disclose your complete diagnosis or medical history.
Should you file an Employment Standards complaint?
The BC Employment Standards Branch may be able to address minimum statutory entitlements under section 66.
However, the Branch doesn’t determine the full common-law severance package you may be owed. Before filing a complaint, accepting a new role or resigning, speak with an employment lawyer about both sets of rights.
Speak With a BC Employment Lawyer
If your employer has changed your duties, title, authority or entire role, don’t assume that you must accept the new arrangement or leave without compensation.
The BC employment lawyers at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP can review your original position, employment contract and the proposed changes to determine whether your employer has crossed the line – and help you get proper compensation.
We can assess both your minimum rights under the BC Employment Standards Act and your greater common-law severance entitlement.
If the change amounts to constructive dismissal, you are entitled to a full severance package of up to 24 months’ pay.