I have an employee who has been with me for 23 years. Two years ago he developed kidney problems and permanently wears a pee bag. Due to loyalty I have kept him on payroll but he essentially produces nothing. I have 10 employees and a payroll of $750,000 per year.
I am an electrical contractor in the private sector (non-union). Company moral is severely affected by his lack of production. I am considering laying him off and eventually terminating. Can I legally do this?
Does he have disability rights?

Hi Mike, thanks for writing to us. My name is Stephen Gillman and I am an associate in our Labour & Employment Group. Regarding your question, while you are able to lay the employee off and/or terminate him, he would represent a fairly significant financial liability to your Company. If you lay the employee off, this could be viewed as a constructive dismissal and he would be entitled to severance. To get a sense of what a severance package would look like for that employee, I would encourage you to visit the severance pay calculator our firm has developed (www.SeverancePayCalculator.com). In addition to severance, the employee could also make an argument that he was terminated due to illness. If successful, he would be owed both severance and separate human rights damages. I would like to fully explore this matter with you and I would be happy to provide you with a free and confidential consultation. Please email me directly at stephen.gillman@stlawyers.ca so we can book a time to speak.