Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by Boyd Byers Is your employee handbook or policy manual haunted by shadowy policies and provisions that are treated as though they aren’t even there? “Ghost policies” can creep into a handbook in a number of ways. They may be relics that once lived useful lives—the legacies of long-departed HR managers—but their original purpose is […]
This season, the network that originally brought you “COPS” is giving the oversaturated police-television show market a somewhat fresh take through its cop comedy called “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” The show stars Andy Samberg as Det. Jake Peralta, a “talented, but carefree” (Fox’s words—not mine) detective dealing with his new hard-nosed, rule-following boss, played by Andre Braugher. […]
Litigation Value: Unknown Last night’s episode of The Office gave the characters their first glimpse into their upcoming documentary. Surprisingly, this seems to be the first time any of them contemplated that the world (literally) will be able to see their personal and professional antics that have entertained all of us for the past 10 […]
In last week’s episode, this blog’s all-time favorite character returned with gifts. And when I say “gifts,” I mean gifts for the writers of this blog; not so much for the Scranton branch. That’s right, Dunder Mifflin’s all-time leader in litigation liability for the company, Todd Packer, returned to the show for (what just has […]
Litigation value: $0.00 for a drunk, passed out (and likely concussed) Daryl, but Jim has a cause of action for battery against Belsnickel. My colleague, Doug Hall, wrote about the “Dwight Christmas” episode three weeks ago when it first aired. I agree with him that employers need to be careful with their holiday social events to minimize potential […]
by Emilie Paquin-Holmested Generally when employees decide to leave their jobs, they are considered to have quit. But in Canada, if they leave their jobs because the employer substantially changed essential terms of their employment, they are considered to have been constructively dismissed. The line separating these two notions is often unclear. It’s especially so […]
An employee is arrested and something must be done. Do you fire the employee because you don’t want to put up with someone who lands in jail? Or do you wait to get the facts, maybe even wait for the legal system to run its course before making an employment decision? A related quandary is […]
by Karen Sargeant and Clayton Jones Last week, we reported on the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Bowes v. Goss Power Products Ltd., which found that an employee does not have a duty to mitigate where an employment contract contains a fixed severance entitlement but no express requirement to mitigate. The Court of Appeal […]
Recently, I wrote about the importance of consistent, dedicated effort on a daily basis, quoting Woody Allen, “90 percent of success is showing up.” Some might ask, as they have, “Doesn’t it take more than having your butt in a chair?” Of course it does. Consider a student with perfect attendance. She’s at school each […]
by A. Neal Barkus Suppose your company has a computer engineering position that it has been trying to fill for several months with no success. Suddenly, you’re contacted by a dream applicant ― someone with an excellent educational record from the local university, relevant job experience, and attractive personal qualities. Let’s call this applicant Manesh. […]