The case is Partridge v. Botony Dental Corp., [2015] O.J. No. 226. It was decided on January 19, 2015. It tackled a number of important issues that Ontario dentists deal with every day….
Like: should I fire a staff who is behaving badly without giving them notice or payment in lieu of notice (i.e. just cause termination)? If I end up firing someone wrongly (e.g. for just cause when I had no actual just cause), how much reasonable notice would I owe them? If a staff just came back from maternity leave and I wanted to change their schedule in a way that interfered with their childcare arrangements, could that constitute discrimination based on their family status? And finally: are hygienists allowed to own and operate dental practices in Ontario? These are very interesting legal questions and the ramifications are quite significant. Stay tuned as I start to dissect this case over the next series of blog posts…
FYI, on the question dealing with discrimination based on family status, I just wrote an article to tackle this all important issue. In the article, we review the law when it comes to accommodating employees with family obligations. I’ve submitted the article to Ontario Dentist for publication.
