Top 5 things to know about Quebec Employment Law

Important things to know about Quebec Employment Law

It is an arduous process to understand the Civil Code and Quebec regulations when it comes to labor laws and what is entitled to you as an employee. We have narrowed down the most important laws that you should be aware of, when you get into an agreement with a company so you can truly know your rights and use them actively.

1. Civil Code

Employment contracts in Quebec are governed by contract law rules established in the Civil Code of Quebec (the "CCQ").

The CCQ encompasses provisions that address both fundamental principles that apply to all contracts and specific rules that apply solely to employment contracts. Article 2085 CCQ defines employment contracts as those by which a person undertakes for a limited period to do work for remuneration, according to the instructions and under the control of another person.

This definition is similar to those used in Ontario and throughout Canada. However, because these jurisdictions adhere to common law, while specific laws in those jurisdictions may define the employment relationship for their own purposes, the general definition is primarily a result of judicial decisions. As a result, there may be some distinctions between who is considered an employee in Quebec and who is considered an employee elsewhere in Canada.

2. Reasonable Notice

When an employee is fired without cause in Quebec, he or she is entitled to a reasonable notice period or pay in lieu of notice. In this regard, Quebec is similar to Ontario and the rest of Canada.

Unlike the common law provinces, however, Quebec has codified the reasonable notice requirement in CCQ article 2091. The reasonable notice requirement exists in Ontario due to judge-made common law.

3. Contracting out of damages resulting from unreasonable notice

Article 2092 of the CCQ provides that “[t]he employee may not renounce his right to obtain an indemnity for any injury he suffers where insufficient notice of termination is given or where the manner of resiliation is abusive”. In other words, employees in Quebec are entitled to payment in lieu of notice that is equal to the full reasonable notice period, regardless of the terms of the employment contract.

The Employment Standards Act in Ontario mandates a separate statutory notice period. This notice period is less than the full reasonable notice period to which an employee may be entitled under judge-made common law. In general, the common law notice period applies only if an employment contract does not specifically exclude it. However, an employment contract cannot include a notice period that is less than the minimum required by the Employment Standards Act, assuming the Act applies to the employee in question.

This dilemma does not exist in Quebec, where all employees are entitled to the full reasonable notice period prescribed by the CCQ.

4. The Right to Reinstatement

The Act Respecting Labour Standards includes a mechanism for eligible employees who have been fired without good and sufficient cause to apply for reinstatement. Employees who are not covered by the Labour Standards Act, typically those in management positions, must instead seek restitution for unjust dismissal under the CCQ.

In Ontario, the Employment Standards Act does not provide a comparable remedy. Typically, the only way for an employee to be reinstated is to file a human rights complaint under the Human Rights Code. As a result, employees who are fired without cause are limited to claiming damages equal to the reasonable notice period.

5. Recourse in the event of psychological harassment in the workplace

An Act Respecting Labour Standards also provides a general mechanism through which Quebec employees can seek redress for psychological harassment. Pursuant to section 81.18 of the Act psychological harassment includes “any vexatious behaviour in the form of repeated and hostile or unwanted conduct, verbal comments, actions or gestures that affects an employee's dignity or psychological or physical integrity and that results in a harmful work environment for the employee”. If sufficiently serious, even one incident may be considered vexatious.

The provisions in An Act Respecting Labour Standards dealing with psychological harassment are relatively new and have received much attention in Quebec. Their general scope contrasts with the approach Ontario has taken towards workplace harassment in its Human Rights Code, which provides protection to employees against harassment on the basis of specific factors such as race, sex and creed.

Employment law in Quebec is still based on the same concepts as employment law in Ontario. In establishing employee rights to notice and damages, the CCQ replaces common law, and An Act Respecting Labour Standards provides for employee rights at work and reinstatement in the event of termination. While Quebec and Ontario employment law frequently rely on similar general principles, how these principles are applied set them apart.