A Whistler hotel employee went to the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal with claims that he was fired without notice.
The employee and applicant in the case, who worked at Four Seasons Whistler Hotel as a massage therapist, told the tribunal he was entitled to four to six months’ notice.
He claimed $5,000, the limit for small claims at the tribunal.
Four Seasons responded by saying that it wasn’t required to give the employee notice because it had just cause to fire him.
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The employee in question began his work as a contractor in 2020. In September 2022, the hotel hired him as an employee. Less than two years later, on March 19, 2024, Four Seasons terminated him without notice.
According to the tribunal’s decision, an employer has a duty to give its employee notice unless there was just cause to fire them.
An employee representing the Whistler hotel said that the applicant did not follow company procedures, was confrontational over the phone in a conversation with his supervisor, and was involved in incidents outside work with other employees.
More specifically, the hotel claimed that the employee didn’t follow procedures around clocking in and out. The hotel also claimed the employee ate at the staff cafeteria when not working. He received two warnings about these issues in December 2022.
The tribunal said that the difficulty for Four Seasons is that there was no evidence that the employee breached those policies after he was reprimanded. The tribunal felt the employee had corrected his behaviour.
Turning to the allegation of being confrontational over the phone, the hotel provided a manager’s note, which said the employee raised his voice and used profanity in a phone call in October 2023.
The tribunal accepted that the phone call was unprofessional but said there was no evidence that any similar conduct occurred after being reprimanded.
There was one more incident the tribunal was considering in the case involving an incident outside of the workplace. Two hotel employees and a third party encountered the applicant at a bar in October 2023. A witness statement suggested the employee was intoxicated. The claim suggests the employee made others feel uncomfortable and bought drinks for everyone, even though they refused.
The tribunal admits that the encounter might have been awkward for the other employees, but that it wasn’t a reason to fire him.
Ultimately, the tribunal found that the hotel did not have cause to fire the employee without notice and that he was entitled to damages equal to what he would’ve earned during the notice period.
The Whistler hotel was ordered to pay the employee $5,341.77 within 30 days of the decision.