We are often asked by employees whether they should record people at work to get evidence about how they’re being treated. A recent case out of the British Columbia Supreme Court highlights some of the risks of conducting secret or “surreptitious” recordings for employees in the workplace.  In Shalagin v. Mercer Celgar Limited Partnership, 2022 BCSC […]

A union representative’s role in many situations will depend on the language of the collective agreement. That said, employees will always have the right to get advice from the union about their rights and be represented by the union in the grievance process. Why is the union representative important? A union representative or shop steward

If you are not a union member, your employer can terminate your employment at any time either for a justifiable reason (“cause”) without advance notice or, depending on the terms of your employment contract, by providing you sufficient advance notice (“reasonable notice”) or pay in lieu of reasonable notice that your employment is going to

Top six things to do if you’ve been fired or laid off In this blog article, we review six things you should do, from a legal perspective, if you’ve been fired or laid off. 1)       Don’t sign anything before you talk to a lawyer, but get what you’re owed under employment standards legislation! Before you sign

Top five myths about employment law At Labour Rights Law, all we do is employment, labour, and human rights law.  Since we opened our doors in 2013, we’ve helped hundreds of employees and small businesses negotiate tough workplace issues in Coquitlam and the Tri-Cities area, across BC, and the rest of Canada. Here are some

How do I know if a severance package is fair? Losing your job can be one of the most stressful experiences you will ever face.  One of the biggest sources of stress, obviously, is money. When you’re told you can’t rely on continuing paycheques any more, and are asked to agree to a final payment

Recently, the media have begun talking about “quiet firing.” Sound familiar?  Well, the term sounds a lot like “quiet quitting.” “Quiet quitting” is a recently coined term used to describe employees who put in no extra hours or effort beyond what’s required by their employer What do people mean by “quiet firing?”  It’s basically when an employer looks to end

Employees north and south of the Canadian border are making news by unionizing their workplaces. Amazon and Starbucks are just two examples of powerful, multinational corporate employers now facing a more level playing field when negotiating the wages and working conditions of many of their workers. Workers who are unionized have better wages, working conditions, and job security. The

“Tips on how to file a human rights complaint” is the second blog in a two-part series. In last week’s blog, we reviewed what to consider before filing your complaint. This blog provides some tips for what to do when you’re drafting and filing your complaint. When filing a human rights complaint: Explain the discrimination in