Background: Ellen De Castro filed for summary judgment in an employment matter against Arista Homes Limited. The defendants challenged the fairness of the summary judgment, arguing it violated the rules of simplified procedures, which prohibit cross-examinations on affidavits, and contended that De Castro was only entitled to statutory severance pay based on her written employment contract, which they claimed excluded common law notice. They also argued that De Castro failed to mitigate her damages.
Facts:
De Castro was employed with Arista Homes Limited and was terminated on October 26, 2020.
Her employment contract purportedly limited her to statutory severance pay, excluding common law notice, which was challenged based on its legality and fairness.
De Castro began seeking employment after a delay due to her daughter's cancer diagnosis and subsequent death.
Issues/Main Discussion:
Whether the written employment contract's termination provisions were enforceable.
Whether De Castro had failed to mitigate her damages.
Ruling:
The court found the termination provisions of De Castro's employment contract unenforceable as they provided less than the statutory minimum requirements and were in violation of the Employment Standards Act.
The defendant failed to meet the burden of proving lack of mitigation on De Castro's part.
An appropriate notice period was determined to be 8 months plus 10% of that amount for lost benefits.
Amount Awarded:
De Castro was awarded $57,620.85 plus pre-judgment interest for eight months' salary in lieu of notice, lost benefits, and a prorated annual bonus.
