Corsini v. Environmental 360 Solutions Ltd., 2025 ABCJ 132 is a recent decision from the Alberta Court of Justice that focused on whether an employee had, and the circumstances in which an employee could, withdraw a notice of resignation.
Assistant Chief Justice Higa dismissed the Plaintiff’s claim on the basis that: (1) the evidence did not support the Plaintiff’s assertion that she had withdrawn her resignation; and (2) even if the Plaintiff did withdraw her resignation as alleged, it was no longer possible for her to do so because the employer had already accepted that resignation.
Facts
The decision set out the relevant background to the claim as follows:
- The Plaintiff commenced employment with Capital Paper in June 2008.
- On August 29, 2022 the Plaintiff submitted a written notice of resignation to Capital Paper advising she was resigning effective June 30, 2023.
- Capital Paper was purchased by another entity, Environmental 360 Solutions Ltd. (“E360”) in December, 2022.
- Prior to that purchase a meeting between the Plaintiff and a representative of E360 occurred on December 6, 2022. The Plaintiff alleged that she withdrew her resignation during that meeting.
- On March 2, 2023 E360 formally accepted the Plaintiff’s resignation and advised that June 30, 2023 would be her last
- By letter dated May 25, 2023 E360 advised the Plaintiff that because of accrued vacation time the last day she would be required to work was June 2, 2023, with pay and benefits continuing until June 30, 2023.
Analysis / Conclusion
Justice Higa first reviewed the test for determining whether an employee had resigned: did the employee intend to resign and, viewing all the circumstances, would a reasonable employer have understood the employee had resigned? The Court found that the Plaintiff’s resignation letter was a clear and unambiguous act in the form of a statement of an intention to resign.
The bulk of the decision focused on the circumstances in which an employee could withdraw a notice of resignation, and whether there was an attempt to do so in this case. At law, an employee is able to withdraw a notice of resignation unless that employer has accepted the resignation or relied upon the notice of resignation to their detriment.
The Court concluded that the notice of resignation was not withdrawn on two grounds.
First, at the meeting where the Plaintiff claimed to have withdrawn her resignation there was no representative of her employer who could have received that withdrawal. The Plaintiff had given her notice of resignation to her employer, Capital Paper. The December 6, 2022 meeting was with a representative of E360. At the time E360 did not own or have any interest in Capital Paper at the time, so it was not possible for the Plaintiff to have notified her employer at that meeting of any intention to rescind her resignation.
Second, the documentary evidence supported the testimony of the Defendant’s witnesses that the Plaintiff had never stated or indicated that she intended to withdraw her resignation. That documentary evidence included a number of emails subsequent to the December 6, 2022 meeting where the Plaintiff indicated retracting her resignation was a possibility or something she would be willing to do if E360 were to make her a job offer, and the lack of protest after E360 formally accepted her resignation on March 2, 2023.
As an alternative basis to deny the claim, the Court also found that the evidence supported a conclusion that the employer had accepted and relied upon the Plaintiff’s resignation prior to December 6, 2022. The evidence demonstrated that after the resignation letter was submitted both parties acknowledged the resignation and conducted their affairs on the basis the Plaintiff would be leaving her employment on June 30, 2023.
Since the employee had resigned and not effectively withdrawn her resignation, her claim for wrongful dismissal was unsuccessful.
My Take
In order to be effective a notice of resignation must be clear and unequivocal. The same standard applies to rescinding a resignation. If an employee has changed their mind about resigning it is incumbent on them to communicate that fact clearly and in a timely manner. Once an employer has explicitly or implicitly accepted an employee’s clear and unequivocal resignation, it will be too late for the employee to withdraw their resignation.
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