Gauging the seriousness of misconduct
Question: Is there a threshold of how serious misconduct can be to warrant dismissal on its own without any prior misconduct by the employee? How can an employer determine this threshold?
Answer: Since the 2001 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in McKinley v. BC Tel, it has been clear that an employer must show that dismissal was a proportional response to the act of misconduct relied on if it is to succeed in defending a wrongful dismissal action.
