The former employee of a BC shelter called the Lillooet Friendship Centre Society (LFCS) fought his former employer and won thousands in a wrongful termination suit.
According to the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal decision, Gil-March Joseph Leclerc claimed he was terminated without cause, notice, or pay in lieu of notice.
He told the tribunal the termination caused anxiety, depression, mental distress and loss of workplace confidence and claimed $5,000 in damages. In response, the society told the tribunal that Leclercl was indeed terminated for cause but agreed it didn’t give notice or pay instead of notice.
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Leclerc worked at the society for seven months between June 2022 and January 2023. He was paid bi-weekly anywhere between $819 to $1,600.
LFCS told the tribunal that Leclerc missed five shifts and was late two times during his employment and that he was terminated for not showing up for a shift on January 19, 2023. LFCS added that Leclerc was given many verbal warnings. The tribunal noted that LFCS bore the burden of proving that Leclerc was terminated for cause.
In response, Leclerc said he was only told he could lose his job the day before he got fired.
The tribunal found that LFCS couldn’t prove that Leclerc was terminated for cause. The tribunal’s decision was made slightly trickier because neither party could provide evidence of a written employment contract.
“When an employee is terminated without reasonable notice, they are entitled to damages equal to what they would have earned during the notice period,” the tribunal said.
So, the tribunal had to determine what reasonable notice would have been in this case and found that Leclerc was entitled to compensation of three weeks of pay instead of reasonable notice.
That amounted to $2,040 plus tribunal fees, pre-judgement interest for the BC shelter employee, and 10% in deductions from the gross income.
In total, Leclerc won $2,153.13.
LFCS was ordered to pay this amount within 21 days of the decision. The tribunal dismissed Leclerc’s other claims for anxiety, depression, mental distress and loss of workplace confidence.