Ancillary Claims for Damages in Employment Law

• Author: Robert L. Colson and A. Jane Milburn
• Pages: 427-446



AncillaryClaimsforDamagesin

Employment Law

Robert L. Colson and A. Jane Milburn*

A. INTRODUCTION

Fewwouldargue withthe propositionthat theworkplacehas cometo

occupy an everincreasing role in how individuals withi n our society

denethemselvesa ndtheirrelat ionshiptoothers Itsimpactgoes well

beyondthephysical boundariesof theemploymentenvironment itaf-

fectshow weperceive ourselveshowwe dealw ithothers bothi nside

andoutsideoftheworkplaceandourfundamentalunderlyingsenseof

selfworthwhichin turnimpactsou rfamilyrelationships andmanyof

ourpersonalvalues

Thistrendconti nuestogrowandshowseverysignthatitsmomen-

tumwillbema intainedfortheforeseeablefutureWorkisbecomingan

increasinglyimportantdeninginuenceinourlivesandthecourtsare

becomingmore aunedto andwilli ngtorecog nizethe signicanceof

workondeningwhoweareasindividualsandasasocietyThecourts

are increasinglyaware of thepower imbalance in therelationsh ipbe-

tweenemployersandemployeesInthiscontextitsta ndstoreasonthat

ourlegal systemwi llbe calledupon torecog nizeth isreality and that

thecourt swill respondbyre examining boththe natureand extentof

theremedies availableto employeesupon termination ofemployment

Anumberof judgmentsinrecent yearshaveacknowledgedthe impor-

 RobertColsonandJaneMi lburnarepart nersinthermofTeplitskyColsonLLP

ThankstoJen niferLakestudentatlawforherresearchass istance

RLCAJM

tanceofemploymentandcommenteduponthenatureandqualityofthe

employmentrelationshipandtheunderlyingcontractbetweenemployer

andemployeeThatcontractisincertainrespectsfundamentallydier-

entf romthe bargain that one wouldexpect might be struck between

equallyempoweredpartiesdealingwithoneanot heratarmslength

Thereisnoh igherauthorityandperhapsnobeerstatementof the

disparitythatexistsbetweenemployerandemployeethanthejudgment

ofIacobucciJinWallacevUnitedGrainGrowersLtd1whoadoptsthelan-

guageofSwintonJthenaprofessorwhowrote

t he terms of the employment contract ra rely result from an exer-

ciseof freeba rgainingp owerinthe waythat theparadigm commer-

cialexcha ngebetweentwo tradersdoesIndividual employeesonthe

wholelackboth thebargain ingpowerand theinformat ionnecessary

toachievemorefavourablecontractprovisionsthanoeredbytheem-

ployerparticularlywithregardtotenure2

JusticeIacobuccicontinues

Thispowerimbala nceisnotlimitedtotheemploymentcontrac titself

Ratheriti nformsvir tuallyal lfacets oftheemployment relationship

InSlaightCommunicationsIncvDavidsonSCRDickson

CJwritingforthemajorityoftheCourthadocca siontocommenton

thenatureoft hisrelationshipAtpphequotedwithapproval

fromPDavies andM FreedlandK hanFreudsLabourand theLaw

rdedatp

Therelationbetweenanemployerandanisolatedemployee

orworker is typically ar elationbet weena bearer of power

and one who is not a bearer of power In its inception it is

anact ofsubmissioni nitsoperationit isacondition ofsub-

ordination

The vulnerabi lityof employeesis underscoredby the levelof im-

portance which oursociet yaaches to employmentAs DicksonC J

notedinRef erence Re Public Service EmployeeRelati onsActAlta

SCRatp

 SCRWallace

 KatherineSwi ntonContractLawandtheEmploymentRelation shipTheProper

ForumforReforminBarr yJReiterJohnSwanedsStudies in Contract Law

TorontoBuerworthsat