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Can i be liable if I laid off a worker because he booked christmas holidays, 11 months prior and i wanted them too work those shifts.( one day prior our vp called a meeting and said no lay offs if you accept a reduced work week ) (employee agreed to reduced work week)

Thank you for your question. My name is Jon Pinkus and I am an employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.

The first thing you need to be aware of is that as an employer, you always have potential liability for severance when laying someone off (note that this is the case whether the layoff is temporary or permanent). So the reason for the termination may turn out not to be that relevant.

As an employer you have the right to decide when your employees take vacation, but you cannot deny them statutory holidays. If this employer was prevented from taking a statutory holiday, there may be some liability under the Employment Standards Act under its reprisal provisions.

I therefore recommend that you contact us at the number below to set up a consultation and discuss this in further detail.
Lior Samfiru
Direct Tel (Toll Free): 1-855-821-5900     Email: lior@stlawyers.ca     Web: www.stlawyers.ca
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