Client Win: Alberta site supervisor awarded $31K after demotion, pay cut

Idris v. Grand West Electric Ltd.

Samfiru Tumarkin LLP secured more than $31,000 for our client, Merwan Idris, in Idris v. Grand West Electric Ltd., a matter that was heard at the Alberta Court of Justice (ABCJ).

Lluc Cerda, Calgary managing partner and Western Canada employment practice leader, successfully argued that the 53-year-old was constructively dismissed and didn’t fail to mitigate his losses following his termination.

SEE ALSO
• Changes to your job in Alberta: Employee rights
• Do I have to look for a new job after I’m fired?
• Wrongful dismissal in Alberta: Your rights

What you need to know

• Idris, a ticketed electrician, begins working for Grand West Electric as a site supervisor in December 2013. He isn’t provided with a written employment contract.
• In an email to staff on April 1, 2021, Grand West Electric says it’s temporarily adjusting the pay of journeymen from $39.50 an hour to $38 and hour, effective July 1, 2021. The email also claims that pay for foremen and site supervisors will be temporarily adjusted “in the same manner.”
• On June 4, 2021, Idris goes on medical leave and has cancer surgery three days later.
• During his medical leave, Idris works for food delivery companies, including DoorDash, Skip the Dishes, and Uber Eats. He didn’t feel he was physically ready to resume work as an electrician.
• On May 13, 2022, Idris tells Grand West Electric in an email that he’s ready to return to work on May 30, 2022. During his medical leave, the company required site supervisors to complete software training.
• Project Manager Matt Price tells Idris that there’s no work for him as a site supervisor — offering him a journeyman position, which would reduce his pay from $45 an hour to $38 an hour.
• Idris rejects the demotion and pay cut. He contacts Samfiru Tumarkin LLP — confident that he was constructively dismissed.

The court’s decision

After reviewing the evidence provided by both parties, the ABCJ ruled that Idris was constructively dismissed.

As a result, Grand West Electric was ordered to provide him with nine months of severance pay — plus costs and interest.

SEE ALSO
• How to calculate severance pay
• Severance for provincially regulated employees
• Rights to severance for federally regulated employees
• Should I negotiate my own severance package in Alberta?

Pay cut wasn’t accepted

While Grand West Electric argued that Idris accepted the temporary reduction in wages, the court found otherwise.

Justice Mary McCorquodale said there was no “undue delay” in rejecting the pay cut or demotion — adding that Idris didn’t think the change affected him as a senior site supervisor.

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru breaks down everything employees need to know about job changes on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

Job search efforts were reasonable

Grand West Electric asked the court to reduce the severance amount — arguing that Idris didn’t make reasonable efforts to mitigate his losses following his termination.

The company noted that he:

• Rejected their journeyman position.
• Didn’t apply for any of the journeyman positions that were advertised online.
• Did food delivery jobs for much less than he earned as an employee and started his own business, which didn’t generate similar income.

The ABCJ disagreed with Grand West Electric — stating that they had to offer Idris a position again after he claimed constructive dismissal to trigger a duty to mitigate.

Despite producing hundreds of journeyman job postings, the company couldn’t point to one supervisor position that was comparable to the role Idris held before his termination.

SEE ALSO
• Why Canadians should keep track of their job searches after termination
• Crimp Circuit worker didn’t seek new work following wrongful dismissal

As a result, Justice McCorquodale ruled that he did act reasonably by working for food delivery companies and starting his own business.

The income Idris earned from those ventures during the nine months following his termination was deducted from his severance award.

Key takeaways for employees

• You don’t have to accept major modifications to your job: If unwanted changes are made to the terms of your employment after returning from medical leave, or for any reason, don’t resign before speaking with an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP. We can confirm that you were constructively dismissed and help you secure the compensation you deserve.
• Don’t disregard your duty to mitigate: Keep a record of every place you applied to after being fired or let go, the date you applied, the position you applied for, and what came of the application. If you don’t make a reasonable effort to look for comparable work, it can affect your severance entitlements.

Key takeaway for employers

• Seek legal advice before making changes to an employee’s job: Each employment matter is unique. A thorough review of the situation by our knowledgeable team will ensure laws aren’t broken and that the worker’s rights have been taken into account.
• Make sure your evidence is airtight when claiming a worker failed to mitigate their losses: Employers often think that staff could’ve done more to find comparable work after their termination. Unless you can clearly point to positions that an individual could’ve applied to, you’ll fail to prove they didn’t make a reasonable effort — as Grand West Electric learned.

Other client wins to check out

• $157K for youth engagement coordinator after contract cut short
• Drilling down on severance for 30-year dental employee after practice closure
• LED sales VP turns contractor years, unpaid incentive into big severance
• Misconduct claims debunked—assembler secures $77K in severance

Workplace issue? Contact us

Since 2007, the experienced employment law team at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP has helped tens of thousands of non-unionized individuals resolve their workplace issues.

Whether you’re in Alberta, British Columbia (B.C.), or Ontario, our lawyers can review your situation, enforce your rights, and ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve.