Employers Need To Prove Just Cause
Employers often assert that they have just cause to terminate an employment relationship, but they rarely do. Just cause is very hard to establish. It is often present in cases of very serious misconduct such as theft or violence, and more rarely present in cases of poor work performance. Most employee misconduct falls somewhere in between those extremes and it can be very challenging to determine if there is cause for dismissal without the help of a skilled and knowledgeable employment lawyer.
It is difficult for employers to establish just cause for dismissal, because if they do establish it then the employee is not entitled to any severance . As a result, an employer is usually required to establish either very serious misconduct or several incidents of lesser misconduct or poor work performance coupled with clear warnings and an opportunity to improve that the employee did not follow through on, before an Alberta court will be prepared to say the employer terminated employment for cause.
