Henry v. Foxco Ltd., 2002 CarswellNB 282 (N.B. Q.B.)
In this case the court considered the issue of when a single incident of insolence can constitute just cause for dismissal. Henry was a body repair technician for Foxco Ltd., an automobile dealership. His employment was terminated after nearly eight years of service. At the time of dismissal, Henry was earning $31,200 per year.
On the day Henry was dismissed, he had been assigned to remove decals from two vans. Around mid-afternoon Henry was approached by his supervisor, Graham, who said that he hoped Henry was working on the second van and was not still on the first. Henry became irate at this comment and said at least three times, “If you want to fire me, go ahead and fire me.” Graham first attempted to calm Henry down. When that didn’t work, after being challenged by Henry to fire him several times, Graham eventually did just that.
The court held that although an isolated event will usually not provide just and sufficient cause for dismissal, in this case the events which occurred were serious enough to justify the dismissal. This decision was based on the following findings by the court:
•Graham was telling Henry to work faster, which was part of Graham’s duties as manager;
•Henry overreacted and became loud and abusive to Graham;
•Graham attempted to calm Henry down but Henry refused to compose himself; and
•the incident occurred in the presence of at least three other employees whom Graham supervised.
In this case the court considered the issue of when a single incident of insolence can constitute just cause for dismissal. Henry was a body repair technician for Foxco Ltd., an automobile dealership. His employment was terminated after nearly eight years of service. At the time of dismissal, Henry was earning $31,200 per year.
On the day Henry was dismissed, he had been assigned to remove decals from two vans. Around mid-afternoon Henry was approached by his supervisor, Graham, who said that he hoped Henry was working on the second van and was not still on the first. Henry became irate at this comment and said at least three times, “If you want to fire me, go ahead and fire me.” Graham first attempted to calm Henry down. When that didn’t work, after being challenged by Henry to fire him several times, Graham eventually did just that.
The court held that although an isolated event will usually not provide just and sufficient cause for dismissal, in this case the events which occurred were serious enough to justify the dismissal. This decision was based on the following findings by the court:
•Graham was telling Henry to work faster, which was part of Graham’s duties as manager;
•Henry overreacted and became loud and abusive to Graham;
•Graham attempted to calm Henry down but Henry refused to compose himself; and
•the incident occurred in the presence of at least three other employees whom Graham supervised.
