Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/51536
EMPLOYMENT LAW YOU LEAP I LOOK BEFORE EXAMINE EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU SIGN BY GRETCHEN DRUMMIE t's your dream job … finally. A promotion, pay raise and, most of all, that coveted transfer after nine years of toiling at the company's out-of-province branch to a management position in the Toronto head office. By all appearances, there's nothing to fear — signing the contract is just a formality and there's no need for a lawyer's eyes on it. Unless there's a clause limiting your entitlement to notice and severance to the minimum standards set out in Ontario's Employment Standards Act lurking within the contract like a landmine ready to explode if you get laid off 8 without cause, says Toronto employment lawyer Anatoly Dvorkin. The fallout could result in only the time worked in Ontario post-transfer being accounted for in a package upon termination. In short, even if you worked nine years for the company outside the province prior to the transfer, and one year in Toronto prior to the layoff, you're entitled to only one year of credit instead of the expected 10, says Dvorkin. Blame s. 3 of the ESA, says Dvorkin, a partner at Raviele Vaccaro LLP. It states: "the employment standards