Page 16 - GBC summer 2018 english

ONTARIO CASE LAW
Termination of General Manager without notice or warning was not justi ed
In 1997, a golf club red its General Manager after a former Clubhouse Manager came forward with allega- tions that he had acted in an abusive, belittling and degrading manner towards her. She claimed that the General Manager’s conduct towards her was the reason she had decided to quit her job and accept a position at a different course.
One of her allegations was that during an event to mark the course’s centennial, with a “Wild West” theme, she was dressed in a low cut dress and had a tattoo of a rose painted on her chest. She alleged that the General Manager had approached her and made a derogatory remark, along the lines of: “You call those breasts?”
The complainant, a 10-year employee, had never raised these allegations while she was an employee for fear that she might lose her job. The allegations came to the attention of the club’s Board of Directors ve years after she had resigned.
Within 2 days of meeting with her to discuss her allegations, the General Manager was red without any notice or warning. He sued claiming that he had been wrongfully dismissed.
The court found that, while the course had a sexual harassment policy in place at the relevant time, it had not followed that policy. Most notably, it had not conducted any investigation, nor had it given the alleged harasser any opportunity to respond to the allegations made against him.
While some of the General Manager’s conduct was found to be clearly inappropriate, the court found that it was not suf ciently serious to justify summary dismissal. The court found that the General Manager should have been warned that his behaviour was inappropriate and a violation of the course’s harassment policy. Had the same kinds of behaviour continued following such a warning, then termination might have been warranted at that stage.
The court ordered the Club to pay the General Manager a total of 17 months of salary (approximately $210,000) which represented the period of notice of termination that he should have been given, and additional damages for the unfair and unnecessarily harsh manner in which he was terminated.
BE PROACTIVE
The difference in result between the Ontario and Alberta cases can be explained not only by the seri- ousness of the conduct in the Alberta case, but also by the fact that the employee felt comfortable and able to bring forward her complaint.
While the Alberta golf course did not conduct a thorough investiga- tion, it did take the complaint seriously and it offered the Super- intendent the opportunity to respond to the allegations. It is for this reason, among the others set out in this article, that all employers should have a workplace harass- ment policy in place and should ensure that employees are aware of the existence of that policy and receive regular training on what it means and how it applies.
Taking proactive steps to ensure that employees are aware of what is and what is not acceptable within the workplace, and making it clear that violations of the policy will be taken seriously, are important steps to take to prevent harassment from occurring within your workplace.
This article is intended to provide readers with general information. It should not be regarded or relied upon as legal advice or opinion.
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Golf Business Canada