Termination of an employment relationship

Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union v. Yellow Pages Group Company, 2012 ONCA 448 released today holds:


[18]       In McKinley v. BC Tel, 2001 SCC 38, [2001] 2 S.C.R. 161, the Supreme Court made it clear that the principle of proportionality is the focus in the determination whether termination of an employment relationship is the appropriate sanction in response to employee misconduct.  The requisite balancing of the severity of the conduct in issue with the severity of the penalty reflects an acknowledgment of the importance of work to a person’s life and identity.  The analysis is a contextual one with the unique facts of each case ultimately informing the key issue whether the employee’s misconduct is reconcilable with sustaining the employment relationship.