Contract Analysis and Setting Aside Employment contracts
Employees who signed an employment contract when they were first hired or at some other time should seek the advice of an employment lawyer on dismissal for two reasons:
- so the lawyer can give the employee an opinion as to the contract’s likely meaning; and,
- so the lawyer can advise the employee if the contract is likely to be enforceable.
Contract analysis is not necessarily common sense. What a lay person may think a contract means and the way that kind of contract gets interpreted by the courts are two different things.
Whether a hiring contract is enforceable, especially on the question of any termination provisions in the contract, is also something a lawyer understands better than the average employee getting terminated.
It is worthwhile asking a professional how a contract is most likely to be viewed by the courts, as well as whether it is likely to be upheld as valid.
Contact Guy Hunter at 416-856-4179 for a free half hour consultation about how to interpret your employment contract and whether or not the employment contract you signed is likely enforceable.
Setting aside Termination Provisions in Employment Contracts
Many employees may be asked to sign an employment contract at the time of hiring or at some other time. Often, the employee signs the contract as part of the hiring process and does not really reflect on what they are signing.
In most cases, employers draft these employment contracts to limit the amount of notice employers have to pay out to employees on termination. In other words there is an attempt to contract out of the employer’s obligation to pay reasonable notice. In many cases, the amounts are limited to the minimums set out in the Employment Standards legislation.
There are a number of legal grounds that can be raised to challenge the validity of an employment contract:
- a lack of independent legal advice at the time of signing the contract;
- unconscionability (a very unfair contract);
- a lack of consideration for the contract;
- duress;
- the terms in the contract are vague or ambiguous;
- terms that do not accord with prevailing human rights legislation or principles;
- a failure to adhere to the minimum standards set out for remuneration and pay on termination as per the Ontario Employment Standards Act.
By raising arguments about a contract’s potential invalidity, Guy Hunter can assist you greatly in your negotiations with your employer for a reasonable or more generous severance package.
When every attempt is made to provide helpful information in this website, you may not rely on the information above as legal advice.