Employee productivity in the workplace: Employment lawyer on CTV News

Interview Summary

The Bank of Canada’s deputy governor recently commented on the lack of productivity employees have exhibited within the workforce and its potential impact on the economy. What can employers do to ensure employee performance doesn’t suffer? Can employees be let go from their positions due to poor productivity?

Alex Lucifero, an Ontario employment lawyer and Partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP joined CTV News Ottawa to discuss the rights of employees and employer expectations.

Interview Notes

• Increasing employee workload: Lucifero cautioned that employers cannot increase an employee’s workload without their consent. “If your employer asks you to meet an urgent deadline and work a couple of extra hours, most employees would play ball and help out,” Lucifero explained that employers hoping for employees to pick up the slack of other employees is not appropriate, and considered a breach of contract.
• Terminating employees due to productivity: “Employers should not necessarily jump to a termination,” Lucifero explained, “there are plenty of steps an employer can take to increase that performance.” It is very difficult to terminate an employee with cause based on poor performance.

Related Resources

For further insights and discussions related to employee rights, explore the following resources:

• Performance management and discipline
• Performance reviews