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Can I dismiss an employee whose off sick?
Thank you for your question. My name is Jon Pinkus and I am an employment lawyer with Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.
Terminating an employee who is on an approved medical leave is fraught with risk and usually ill advised. The company will need to establish that the employee's medical leave played no part whatsoever in the decision to terminate the employee's employment, or it could be deemed a human rights violation.
One question that will be worth considering is whether the employee's contract of employment has been "frustrated." This is usually quite difficult to establish, but if there is medical evidence that the employee has a permanent medical condition that will never allow them to return to work, it may be an option, in which case you could terminate that person's employment.
However, generally speaking, employees who are on a medical leave of absence need to be treated with a great deal of care.
It will really depend on the situation and why you want to dismiss this employee. I would recommend that you get in touch with us so we can discuss the details of your situation and the company's options. If you would like to get a sense of the company's potential liability, visit our Free Severance Calculator at http://www.severancepaycalculator.com/. To contact us for legal advice, I can be reached at jon.pinkus@stlawyers.ca, or we can be contacted at the number below.
Terminating an employee who is on an approved medical leave is fraught with risk and usually ill advised. The company will need to establish that the employee's medical leave played no part whatsoever in the decision to terminate the employee's employment, or it could be deemed a human rights violation.
One question that will be worth considering is whether the employee's contract of employment has been "frustrated." This is usually quite difficult to establish, but if there is medical evidence that the employee has a permanent medical condition that will never allow them to return to work, it may be an option, in which case you could terminate that person's employment.
However, generally speaking, employees who are on a medical leave of absence need to be treated with a great deal of care.
It will really depend on the situation and why you want to dismiss this employee. I would recommend that you get in touch with us so we can discuss the details of your situation and the company's options. If you would like to get a sense of the company's potential liability, visit our Free Severance Calculator at http://www.severancepaycalculator.com/. To contact us for legal advice, I can be reached at jon.pinkus@stlawyers.ca, or we can be contacted at the number below.