On August 2, 2012, the British Columbia Supreme Court issued its judgment in the case of Danielisz v. Hercules Forwarding Inc. (2012 BCSC 1155). In Danielisz, the plaintiff was a customs broker with the defendant employer. At the time of her alleged constructive dismissal, the plaintiff was a Director of the employer (as the employer apparently required a licensed customs broker on its Board of Directors) and was manager of the customs department.
The employer's office staff had a history of dissension and interpersonal difficulties. The Plaintiff claimed that she tried to overcome these difficulties, but that the other staff, including her subordinates, had ganged-up on her. She also claimed that her employer had undermined her authority by favouring lighter discipline for a staff member than the Plaintiff had originally imposed.
After a meeting at which the employer had tried to resolve some of the conflicts in the workplace, the Plaintiff commenced a sick leave which she claimed was caused by workplace stress. The Plaintiff ultimately went on Employment Insurance sickness benefits, attempted to make a claim with respect to the workplace stress to WorkSafeBC, and filed a complaint of constructive dismissal under section 66 of the Employment Standards Act. The workers' compensation claim was denied, and the Plaintiff withdrew her complaint under the Employment Standards Act at the mediation.
Shortly after the mediation, the Plaintiff relocated to Kelowna, British Columbia, enrolled her son in school, obtained new employment and advised a co-worker by email that she was unwilling to return to the Defendant employer. However, in her communications with the defendant employer, the Plaintiff asserted that she would be willing to return to work with the Defendant at some point after her concerns with the workplace were resolved. In response, the Defendant employer asserted that the Plaintiff, by filing her complaint under the Employment Standards Act, had repudiated her employment agreement. The employer proceeded to replace the Plaintiff. The Plaintiff then filed her action claiming damages for constructive dismissal.
Discussing the elements of the Plaintiff's claim, the Court noted that whether or not a constructive dismissal has occurred depends on an objective assessment of all the evidence, rather than the employee's subjective view of events. Further, the court held that where the allegations of constructive dismissal relate to claims of undermined authority or the behaviour of co-workers, the Plaintiff must show that the conduct in the workplace was such that a reasonable person in the circumstances should not be expected to persevere in the employment. Not every criticism by an employer or dispute among co-workers will sufficiently poison the work environment such that the employment relationship is undermined.
Applying these principles to the case at bar, the Court declined to find that the Plaintiff had been constructively dismissed. The Court found that the Plaintiff had been less than forthright about her own contributions to the negative work environment (finding that the "Plaintiff was engaged in 'poisoning the work environment' as much as she was 'the targeted employee'"), and further, that the employer had not undermined her authority by imposing a lesser discipline on one of her subordinates. The evidence showed that although the Plaintiff's immediate supervisor was an ineffective manager, he still reinforced her authority after this particular event.
The bottom line, to the Court, was that despite the unpleasant atmosphere, the work was getting done, the Plaintiff was not being forced to bear more than could be reasonably expected, and the Plaintiff had done little to try and improve the situation. Dismissing the Plaintiff's claim, the Court found that the Plaintiff's claim to WorkSafeBC and the complaint under the Employment Standards Act, combined with her relocation and new employment and conflicts in her statements to her employer and others, suggested that she had no intention of returning to work, and had rather hoped to extract some form of compensation from her employer. All of this, the Court held, amounted to a repudiation of the terms of her employment. Her constructive dismissal claim was dismissed.
Danielisz v. Hercules Forwarding Inc., 2012 BCSC 1155 (CanLII)
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