What is the test for dismissing an employee for cause?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from Drdul v. The Brick Warehouse Corp., 1998 CanLII 6681 (BC SC):

Spencer J. concluded (at p. 68): In cases such as this, an employee is entitled to have his performance viewed against his previous conduct, good or bad. Where an employee has many years of exemplary service, minor lapses from the employer's requirements, not committed in wilful disregard of its wishes, will not justify dismissal for cause. The employer's contribution to a situation of stress must be considered. The blame must be apportioned by a fair assessment of all the circumstances, as was done in Roscoe v. McGavin Foods Ltd. (1983), 2 C.C.E.L. 287 (B.C.S.C.). None of this is to say that the defendant was bound to go on employing the plaintiff if it chose not to. Instead, it is to say that if it chose to dismiss him without sufficient cause it was bound to give him reasonable notice.

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