SERVICES TO EMPLOYERS
Howard Employment Law (HEL) provides the full range of employment law services to employers covering the full life cycle of the employment relationship in all Canadian provinces including the following:
Employment offers/agreements
We recommend all employees sign employment agreements with shorter letter form agreements for non-executives and more formal agreements for executives. All agreements should define and limit employer severance obligations.
Employee handbooks and policies
We have assisted many employers in adapting handbooks from other jurisdictions and in conducting legal reviews of handbooks prepared by clients.
Employment standards compliance
We provide practical advice on how to ensure compliance with employment standards, including overtime, vacation pay and rights of employees returning from statutory leaves such as maternity leave. We have an unrivaled understanding of lesser-known ESA liabilities and how to avoid them.
Managing disability
We provide advice and strategies for managing employee disabilities, including the duty to accommodate, obtaining medical information on employee disability and when employers can terminate for prolonged/repeat absenteeism due to disability.
Performance management
We advise employers on their options for dealing with employee misconduct and performance issues, including drafting warnings and other sanctions and undertaking investigations.
Bullying and harassment
HEL helps employers implement bullying and harassment policies. We provide training on them and help to respond to complaints.
Planning for terminations
We work with employers in advance of terminations to assess risks and liabilities and take steps to reduce them. We draft termination letters and severance offers for our employer clients. We advise on compliance with “mass lay-offs” regulations.
Defending and resolving severance and other post-dismissal claims
HEL represents employers in responding to the full range of post-termination claims from discrimination through severance. We have a sterling record of reaching early, cost-effective and realistic settlements.
Enforcing and defending post-termination competition claims
We advise on the drafting and enforcement of non-compete and non-solicit covenants. We have extensive experience in court enforcing such covenants.
Privacy
HEL advises employers on privacy policies, compliance, and complaints.
We keep you up to date, set deadlines, and respond to clients promptly while taking cost into account.
How we start working with new employer clients
One of our lawyers will be happy to talk with you for 10-15 minutes about your issue to determine if we can help. We will then run a conflict search to ensure there is no conflict and will need the names of all adverse parties such as employees to check this.
Once conflicts are cleared, which typically takes only an hour or two, we can begin getting full information and providing advice.
We do require all new clients to sign our standard retainer letter terms of engagement and to provide a modest retainer payment as a deposit against fees before we can begin providing services.
HEL is a small boutique firm with national expertise and cost effective solutions to employment liabilities.