Ontario Superior Court of Justice
CITATION: Cook v. Hatch Ltd., 2017 ONSC 47
COURT FILE NO.: CV-16-548975
DATE: 20170113
BETWEEN:
TIM COOK Plaintiff
– and –
HATCH LTD. Defendant
COUNSEL: Simon Heath, for the Plaintiff William D. Anderson, for the Defendant
HEARD: October 25, 2016
BEFORE: LEDERER J.
Reasons for Judgment
[1] This is a motion for summary judgment.
[2] The action is for wrongful dismissal. The principal issue concerns the interpretation of a clause found in the employment contract executed between the parties. In short, the question is whether the clause is effective in limiting the notice of termination the defendant (the employer) owed to the plaintiff (the employee) or whether the presumptive right to notice, determined through the application of the common law, continues to apply.
[3] The employer (Hatch Ltd.) is a multidisciplinary professional services firm offering engineering services including consulting, project and construction management and information technology to the mining, metallurgical, energy and infrastructure sectors. The employee (Tim Cook) was a “Project Controller” in the “PDG-Projects Control Group in the Mississauga office” of Hatch Ltd.
[4] Tim Cook began his employment with Hatch Ltd. on August 8, 2005. At that time, the parties entered into a written employment contract. It expressly provided for the possibility that, at some point in time, one or the other of them could move to terminate their employment relationship. The agreement contained a clause that indicated the obligations of the parties should such a circumstance occur. It stated:
The Company’s policy with respect to termination is that employment may be terminated by either party with notice in writing. The notice period shall amount to one week per year of service with a minimum of four weeks or the notice required by the applicable labour legislation.
[5] The position held by Tim Cook entailed being assigned to and providing financial controls and monitoring of projects undertaken by Hatch Ltd. There was significant decline in the international mining and energy sectors. Hatch Ltd. saw its revenues reduced. As a result it “laid-off”