The most basic presumption of employment law is that each employee has a contract of employment. It is commonly thought that unless the agreement is written down, then there is no contract. But this is not true. Most employment contracts are verbal, not written. And verbal contracts are every bit as enforceable as written ones.
If you are employed directly by your employer, even if there is no agreement in writing signed by you or your employer, you still have a form of contract. The precise terms of the contract is something that can be sorted out with employment law advice.
It is a contract of service. You have agreed to perform certain defined work, and your employer has promised to pay you defined benefits for that work. That is the basic bargain of an employment contract. Of course, employment contracts can contain a dizzying amount of points of agreement, such as medical or dental insurance, bonuses, commissions, vacation, sick pay, pension contributions and plans, job title, job duties, responsibilities, location of the work, hours of work, days of work, and the like. These points of agreement become "terms" of your employment.
What Does it Mean to Have a Contract?
The fact that you have a contractual agreement with your employer entitles you to rights afforded you under contract law, which is guided by common law. For instance, should either party to the contract wish to change a term of the contract, they must obtain the agreement of the other party. For instance, if the employer wished to increase your pay, you probably would not argue the point, and your agreement would be inferred. However, if the employer sought to reduce your pay or reduce your title, or reduce your duties, or some such change, then in order to do so lawfully, the employer needs your agreement. Unfortunately, most employees are not aware of this, and the employer takes advantage and forces a cut in pay or some other term of employment onto the employee without agreement. If this has happened to you recently, then you should contact me at Dismissal.ca and give me the details, and I will set out your legal position for you.
At termination of your employment, the fact that you have a contract of employment places you in an advantageous position. In order for an employer to bring an end to a contract of employment lawfully, the employer must follow either the contract itself, or the common law. Assuming that the employment contract is valid and enforceable by the employer, if the employment contract contains a section dealing with termination and notice, the employer must follow the provisions of the contract in terminating the employment. However, if there is no wording dealing with termination, then the employer must follow the common law. Under the common law, the employer can terminate the employment contract of any employee, however, in doing so, the employer must provide what the common law calls reasonable notice of termination. Where the employer fails to provide reasonable notice of termination, then the employer is in breach of the contract, and this allows the employee to claim damages against the employer for wrongful dismissal.
