Just cause is essentially serious employee misconduct during the employment relationship that, by it's nature, strikes at the very root of the employment contract such that it can be said that the employment contract cannot continue or be repaired.

If there is truly just cause for dismissal, then the result is that the employer can dismiss the employee immediately, without any requirement to provide notice or reasonable notice or severance or any pay in lieu of notice.

However, except in the clearest cases, just cause is very difficult for the employer to prove. Not all employee misconduct provides just cause. In fact, employee misconduct must be of such serious nature that it fatally fractures the employment contract. The burden for proving that the misconduct amounts to just cause is on the employer.

Just cause is typically alleged by the employer where the misconduct relates to (1) theft or dishonesty; (2) insubordination or willful refusal to follow a direction of the employer; (3) incompetence or poor performance.

As you can imagine, in cases where the misconduct is theft, or sexual or other assault, or acute conflict of interest, then termination can occur immediately. However, in cases where the employer claims insubordination or incompetence, numerous instances of the conduct, together with warnings by the employer, may be required before the employer can lawfully terminate the employment for just cause. This is where most employers get into difficulty.

Just cause is an all or nothing proposition. There is no such thing as near cause, or partial cause. Either the employer can truly claim just cause, or there is no just cause at all. Often, an employer will assert that it has just cause at the point of termination, raising issues it says it has with the employee, hoping to intimidate the employee into accepting the termination. But just as often, the employer cannot possibly prove just cause, despite what it says. In cases such as this, if there is no just cause, then the employer must provide reasonable notice of termination, which could amount to weeks or months of pay.

If your employment has been terminated, and the employer told you it had just cause to terminate, then I urge you to contact me at Dismissal.ca and tell me your story.