Working Notice - A Potential Problem

Michael Fitzgibbons, a Canadian counterpart who provides Thoughts By A Management Lawyer, discusses what happens when an employee who has been told he is to be terminated misbehaves in the interim period. See Misconduct During the Period of Working Notice. Working notice is not a term I am familiar with, nor is there a common law duty to provide reasonable notice of termination this side of the border. But the concept is certainly one that I understand and had occasion to deal with over the years. I would probably fit right in Michael's description as "not a big fan," while acknowledging that sometimes it can work for the benefit of all.



In fact at a meeting this week end of the Management Labor & Employment Roundtable, one of the items discussed that brought about one of those "think again" moments was stories of still current employees who had successfully litigated against their employer, and were now successful in their jobs. The point, notwithstanding possible problems in various situations, there are times that even those which would seem the most difficult may work and shouldn't be discarded out of hand.