Different workplaces have differing expectations of an employee’s schedule of work. An employee who has been with a company for longer may be well adjusted to their schedule after they are told by their employer that changes to the work schedule are about to come. Do employer’s have a legal right to change work schedules?
Employers are permitted to determine hours of work and to make some limited alterations to your schedule. Workplaces are not fixed and employers may require their employee’s to work beyond regular working hours. However, if your employer makes a major change to your schedule without your consent, a constructive dismissal lawsuit may be your remedy. This will occur in circumstances where your employer requires you to work evenings and weekends regularly and where such information was not previously disclosed to you at the start of your employment.
If you refuse to accept the altered changes to your work schedule, your employer may terminate you. If this occurs, you can get a severance package. Even if you are not terminated, you can resign from your position and demand a fair severance package, as if your employment was terminated.
It is ultimately the employee who has the onus of establishing that they were constructively dismissed from their employment. Each case has its own specific facts and court decisions are based on whether the employee had other obligations or faced circumstances where changes in hours of work were onerous.
If your employer has altered your hours of work or is now requiring you to work well into the evenings and on weekends contact top Toronto employment lawyer, Stacey Ball, to set up a consultation. We can be reached at 416-921-7997 extension 227.