Employment & Labour
Cox & Palmer’s employment & labour law team provides strategic legal advice to employers in the private and public sectors throughout Atlantic Canada. We work with both unionized and non-unionized employers, and act as counsel before all levels of courts and tribunals.
We’re proud to maintain an approach based on a high level of availability to our clients. With a thorough and ongoing knowledge of our clients’ operations, we can offer the insightful advice you need, when you need it. Our lawyers are proactive, results-oriented, and believers in the effectiveness of early intervention. Throughout Atlantic Canada, you can count on the team nearest you to help you minimize or even avoid workplace complications.
We are dedicated to keeping our clients current and informed of legislative changes and case law developments that may affect their workplace. This approach ensures that you are best equipped to deal with changing workplace laws and legal requirements. Through regular contact and insightful advice, we’re better able to help you effectively manage or even avoid workplace complications.
Services include:
- Advice to clients with respect to reorganization, outsourcing, mergers and acquisitions
- Advice on the application of common law and legislative employment principles
- Representation in wrongful dismissal cases
- Advice on and representation in Human Rights matters, including the duty to accommodate, sick leave and family status issues
- Drafting and reviewing executive employment contracts, compensation packages and severance agreements
- Drafting and enforcement of non-competition/solicitation and confidentiality agreements
- Advice on the hiring of foreign workers
- Advice on all workplace safety matters, including Workers Compensation and Occupational Health and Safety
- Advice on issues relating to pension plan administration, statutory compliance, plan termination, plan splits and mergers
- Drafting workplace policies
- Conducting workplace investigations and advising Employer’s in the conduct of a proper investigation
- Review of severance packages and advice on tax/EI consequences
- Advice on pay equity
- Collective Agreement bargaining and interpretation and administration of Collective Agreements, including the negotiation of multi-trade labour agreements for large build commercial and industrial construction projects
- Advice on labour disruptions and appropriate Employer response
- Representation of employers at grievance arbitrations and/or mediations
- Advice and negotiation of settlement agreements
- Advice on management rights
- Advice to employers on the union certification process and representation in applications for certification/decertification
- Representation at Labour Boards and Tribunals, including Labour Standards
Our employment & labour lawyers work closely with our corporate & commercial lawyers to provide strategic advice on employment and labour issues in corporate mergers and acquisitions in all sectors of the economy, as well as in corporate downsizing and insolvency issues.
