Repudiating the Employment Contract by Suing your Employer
One of my pet peeves in this area of law is the inconsistent treatment of the question of "Can the employment relationship persist during litigation?" This tends to be answered differently depending on who is taking what position. I've written about this issue before . The most recent case on the matter is a BC decision, Adrain v. Agricom , where the employer had provided 13 months of working notice to an employee with about 30 years of service. She was entitled to reasonable notice in the amount of 24 months - a point that was conceded by trial. She hired a lawyer to try to negotiate a package, highlighting that she's entitled to more than the 13 months' notice that had been provided, and asking for a commitment to pay the additional notice entitlements. The employer appeared unwilling to enter into negotiations with the employee's lawyer, so a statement of claim was filed. At the outset, a few observations: Her lawyer was right. The employer's notice was...