Legal Blog

Employment Contract

North v. Metaswitch Networks Corporation 2017 Ont CA

Employer terminated employment pursuant to a termination clause in an employment agreement. Court found that that termination clause was initially void because it contravened the Employment Standards Act. The issue was whether the employer could rely on a clause stating that any part of the agreement found to be illegal would be severed from the agreement. The Court held that the severability clause was unenforceable relating to a termination clause. To hold otherwise would incentivize employers to draft contracts contrary to the ESA provisions, but include a severability clause to save the offending provision if the employee had the time and money to challenge the contract in court.

Written by Jonathan Speigel Jonathan Speigel, the founding partner of Speigel Nichols Fox LLP, leads the litigation and construction practices.