7 Biggest Mistakes Employers Make

Employers Make Mistakes

At Samfiru Tumarkin we receive countless questions every day regarding the rules and regulations governing various businesses across Ontario, and the rights of both employer and employee when a workplace issue presents itself.

Over the years, we have noticed that certain questions and conflicts regarding employment have been flagged far more often than others.

Some of these disputes are sparked by employers who willfully ignore the law, while other issues, such as not providing fair severance to an employee terminated without cause, are the result of an employer’s lack of knowledge when it comes to labour law.

Therefore, we put together a list of the biggest mistakes employers make in the workplace.

1. Employer Mistake: Workplace Harassment

Not only is this a common mistake, it is a very costly one. An employer has a very strict legal duty, when faced with a harassment complaint, to investigate the issue and take appropriate action to remedy the situation. An employer can discipline problem employees, provide sensitivity training, and even relocate workers. You MUST take a complaint seriously and respond to it immediately.

Many employers do not heed this advice. Why? Because it is easier to ignore the problem and sweep it under the rug than to deal with it head on. Some employers believe that the issue will magically vanish over time. The situation will most likely not resolve itself without intervention.

• Sexual Harassment at Work: More Common Than You Think

If an employer does not properly investigate a complaint about harassment or discrimination, an employee could view the inaction as a form of constructive dismissal, which would trigger compensation in the form of severance.

2. Employer Mistake: Employment Agreements

This is a huge mistake. For an employment contract to be enforceable, it MUST be signed BEFORE the employee starts working. If it signed after employment begins, it is not enforceable.

Not doing so can cause big issues for an employer, rather than an employee. In fact, many employees would benefit from NOT signing an employment agreement, as these contracts may actually remove protections that an employee generally enjoys.

If you want to have a document signed that benefits you as an employer, you should make sure that it remains 100% enforceable. Make sure the paperwork is filled out before the first day of work begins.

There is an exception: an employment agreement signed after work has commenced can be deemed enforceable if the employer offers an employee something in return, such as a signing bonus, extra vacation, promotion or pay raise.

3. Employer Mistake: Employees’ Medical Limitations

Somebody on your staff may come to you asking for a shift change due to a health concern identified by their doctor, or a medical issue concerning a family member under their direct care. Even though you may not want to say yes, the law dictates that you must comply with their request.

Modifying an employee’s duties, hours or location of employment is not an easy task. An employer may not want to comply with a request for accommodation because it will prove to be very difficult to carry out.

That is not an acceptable reason. In fact, workplace accommodations are expected to be a difficult issue.

An employer who refuses their duty to accommodate is committing a human rights violation. Their actions could be considered constructive dismissal, and they could be made to pay an employee compensation.

4. Employer Mistake: Pregnant Employees

This is one of the biggest mistakes businesses make. In this day and age, employers should know better than to target a female employee simply because she is pregnant.

Even if an employer has a legitimate reason to terminate an employee with child, it will be assumed that you are letting them go because they are pregnant.

We have encountered many employers who, upon learning that a stellar employee is pregnant, have quickly built an absurd case against the worker before maternity leave kicks in. In a matter of weeks, a productive employee is accused of becoming a rotten one.

DO NOT TAKE THAT APPROACH. Such action is a violation of the human rights code.

If you really do have a legitimate reason to dismiss a pregnant employee, make sure you have all of your ducks in a row. You must be prepared to prove that your accusations are based in fact.

Our best advice on this matter: DO NOT MESS WITH A PREGNANT EMPLOYEE!

5. Employer Mistake: Inadequate Severance

The days of being able to offer a terminated employee minimal severance are behind us. In the past, when you let an employee go, you could get away with paying them inadequate severance because the employee didn’t know any better.

Through helpful resources like the Employment Law Show, the Severance Pay Calculator, and the Pocket Employment Lawyer, people are now more informed than ever before. They are more aware of their rights.

• How to Calculate Severance Pay

Offering pennies on the dollar could open you up to a claim for wrongful dismissal.

Some employers simply do not know what components are factored into severance pay. If you’re not sure how much termination pay an employee is entitled to after years of service, let the Severance Pay Calculator be your guide.

6. Employer Mistake: Overtime

If an employee works overtime, you MUST properly compensate them. This holds true even if your workplace requires company approval before extra hours are worked. An employee who works overtime without proper approval can legally be disciplined by their employer, but that lack of approval does not excuse a business from having to pay for the overtime hours that were worked.

Did you know that salaried employees (excluding managers) are entitled to overtime pay? A great number of businesses either willfully ignore this fact or are unaware that it even exists.

7. Employer Mistake: Disciplinary Policies

In order to terminate somebody for cause, you need to build a strong case against them. This can be done by demonstrating that you attempted to deal with the employee’s conduct via the options dictated by your company’s policy. Perhaps you issued a verbal warning, followed by a written warning and then finally a suspension.

If you choose not to abide by your disciplinary policy when dealing with an employee’s inappropriate workplace conduct, there is a good chance that you will not be able to successfully fire that individual for cause, meaning severance pay will have to be awarded.