Labour and employment law

Under article 2094 of the Civil Code of Québec, "a party may, for a serious reason, unilaterally resiliate the contract of employment without prior notice." Therefore, unless they can rely on a ground for dismissal — which is a significant hurdle — Canadian businesses must give their employees reasonable notice, or pay monetary compensation if no notice is given. The employer must ensure the dismissal is lawful and should be able to justify its cause.

An employee may be dismissed for one of the following reasons: misconduct, poor attitude, lack of aptitude, insufficient performance, or lack of skills.

To harass someone means subjecting them to constant attacks, and if those attacks cause psychological harm, we may speak of "psychological harassment." However, it is far more complex than that. The Act respecting labour standards defines this notion, and all of the criteria set out in the Act must be met for conduct to be considered psychological harassment.

For psychological harassment to exist, the conduct must: be vexatious and repeated, or vexatious and serious; be hostile or unwanted by the employee; affect the employee's dignity or physical or psychological integrity; and result in a harmful work environment.

All employment is governed by a contract of employment between an employee and their employer, whether that contract is written or not. The contract of employment is subject to the general rules of obligations set out in the Civil Code of Québec, and one of those rules is that, in principle, a party to a contract cannot unilaterally change its conditions unless that possibility was provided for. Employees may file a complaint with the CNESST if they believe their working conditions differ from those established as at their date of hire.

Consequently, if the changes imposed unilaterally by the employer are not substantial, there is no breach of its obligations and the employee will not be entitled to any remedy. Conversely, if the changes to the essential conditions of the contract of employment are substantial, the employee may consider that there has been a breach of contract — this is known as constructive dismissal.

Economic grounds do not, in principle, justify a substantial change to the essential conditions of a contract of employment, unless there is a case of superior force.