Vancouver employment lawyer on gas station manager termination

Interview Summary

A gas station manager was fired for accidentally pricing gas at a much lower rate than permitted. While this incident occurred in California, what do employment laws in Canada say about mistakes made in the workplace? Can employees be fired for cause for simple errors?

A Vancouver employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP joined 980 CKNW to answer questions on terminations for cause and more.

Interview Notes

• Wrongful dismissals when termination for cause occurs: While in the case of the gas manager in California, the employee was fired and offered no compensation, in Canada, this would likely be considered a wrongful dismissal. Terminations for cause, according to Canadian employment laws, cannot occur simply due to a sole error or mistake made by an employee.
• Fired for cause in B.C: Employees can still be fired without cause for any reason, as long as the reason is not discriminatory. After a termination occurs in B.C however, adequate severance must be paid. Severance is not paid to employees terminated for cause. The threshold in order to prove an accurate termination for cause is extremely high. Innocent mistakes made by an employee cannot lead to a termination for cause in B.C.
• Reasons for terminating for cause: While an employee can be terminated for bad performance, typically progressive disciplinary action must be taken before termination occurs. Employers must give employees a reasonable opportunity to correct their behaviour. Employees’ conduct must have exhibited serious misconduct and the trust in an employment relationship is completely broken, such as theft or fraud.