TRIAL WIN: 6 Months’ Pay for 6 Months of Employment

VANCOUVER, BC, August 29 2018 – Today, the Supreme Court of British Columbia handed down its decision in the case of Greenlees v. Starline Windows Ltd., awarding the plaintiff 6 months of pay in lieu of notice after 6 months of employment.

The plaintiff, represented by Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, was 43 years old and employed as a Sales Associate for the defendant, a window construction and installation company, for a period of 6 months.

Prior to commencing employment with the defendant, the plaintiff was employed by a contracting company as a Sales Associate for a period of 18 months. The defendant’s then-Sales Manager contacted the plaintiff out of the blue about a job opportunity with the defendant. Through the course of two subsequent meetings, the then-Sales Manager made a number of representations about projected income, the “pivotal” nature of his role and opportunities for growth within the company.

Justice Geoffrey Gomery found that our client was not looking for other work at the time that the then-Sales Manager had made contact, that he had to be convinced to join the defendant, and that the representations made by the then-Sales Manager were reasonably relied on by the plaintiff in making the decision to change employers.

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• Starline Windows severance packages

Although Justice Gomery did ultimately find that this was sufficient for a finding of inducement, he also found that this case was “on the line” and that inducement was only given moderate weight in increasing the notice period. The main factor in increasing the notice period was the 7 month long job search that the plaintiff undertook in finding alternate employment, and the fact that his efforts in so doing were reasonable and thorough.

As a result, Justice Gomery took the baseline to which short service employees are entitled of 2-3 months and increased it to 6 months, as requested by counsel for the plaintiff.

Find the full decision here.