“Fiduciaries” are people who hold positions of trust with the people they serve. Most Alberta employees are not fiduciaries of their employers, but some are. Fiduciary employees have significant responsibilities and potential liabilities to their employers.
Bow River Law can help you determine if you are a fiduciary and to help protect you respecting any actions you have taken or intend to take that might upset your employer.
Fiduciary Obligation Services
Fiduciary Employees In Alberta
Employees can be fiduciaries to their employers in some cases. Generally speaking, fiduciary employees are ones the employer has a high level of vulnerability to. Fiduciary employees are usually ones that could cause substantial harm to their employer if they chose to do so during their employment or afterwards. Fiduciaries tend to be “key employees” near the top of the organizational structure, or employees who are considered the “face” of the organization with respect to some third party(s) the employer does business with such as its clients.
Fiduciary employees have special obligations to put the interests of their employers above their own. Misconduct during employment is generally more serious coming from a fiduciary than it would be from an ordinary employee. Fiduciaries are also more likely than ordinary employees to be held directly liable for bad or dishonest behavior. In a severe case, a fiduciary employee in Alberta could be required to pay millions of dollars in damages to their former employer for breaches of their fiduciary duties.
What are Fiduciary Employees Responsible For?
Cautionary Notes
- An Alberta fiduciary employee could be liable for a substantial amount of money for breaching fiduciary duties.
- There is not generally a duty of fiduciary “non-competition” after employment ends, but certain obligations still dictate what a fiduciary can and cannot do.
- Some fiduciary obligations to a former employer terminate over time, but some continue indefinitely.
- If you think you might be a fiduciary, or you are being accused of breaching fiduciary duties, let us help you handle it.
- A fiduciary taking action before getting legal advice can be a huge risk and a personal liability. Some things cannot be un-done.
- If you are a fiduciary that has already made a mistake, legal advice or representation can often help you resolve it or minimize your risk going forward.
- We are experienced litigators at Bow River Law, so if litigation with your former employer over alleged fiduciary breaches is necessary, we can do that for you as well.
Fiduciary Employee FAQ
What are my restrictions if I leave my employer and start competing?
Every employee has obligations to protect certain interests of their former employer, but certain management or client-facing employees, called “fiduciaries” have more substantial obligations. Usually these obligations include not soliciting former clients for a reasonable period of time after leaving, but usually you can compete. You could be personally liable if you are not careful with this, so you should speak to an employment lawyer first.
A new company is looking to hire me, but I have a non-competition agreement with my former employer. What should I do?
It is exciting to have a new job opportunity, but non-competition agreements should be dealt with cautiously. There are creative ways to pursue new employment opportunities without exposing yourself to a lawsuit from your former employer, and an employment lawyer can help you find a solution.
Fiduciary Obligations Legal Blog Articles
Alberta Fiduciaries, Confidential Information and Non-Solicitation
In People Corporation v 2578649 Alberta Ltd., an Alberta Court refused non-comp and non-solicit injunctions, but granted a 12 month fiduciary non-solicit
No Injunction For Soliciting Employees and Bidding on Prior Opportunity
In Southwest Design & Construction v Janssens, a former employer was unable to get an injunction regarding solicitation of employees and clients
Alberta Court Rejects Non-Solicitation Injunction Application
In 1731271 Alberta Inc. v Reimer, 2024 ABKB 446, the Court refused to prevent a former employee and new employer from soliciting clients.
Dishonest Employee Hammered With Huge Judgment In Favor of Employer
Breen v Foremost Industries., 2023 ABKB 552 is a new Alberta decision where an employee sued for wrongful dismissal, but the employer turned the tables
Non-Solicitation and Other Breaches in Alberta Employment Law Case
In Catch Engineering v Mai, 2023 ABKB 279, Justice Armstrong found an Alberta employee breached his obligations of non-solicitation and good faith
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