A British Columbia employer must pay a worker with two-and-a-half years of service 12 months’ pay in lieu of notice because it induced the worker to leave a secure position with few comparable jobs, a BC court has ruled.
The worker was a chemical engineer who was hired by Catalyst Paper Corporation to work at a pulp mill in Duncan, BC, in 1992. Over time, he was promoted to higher positions and eventually became an operations specialist for the bleach plant and digester area at the mill. He reported directly to the mill manager.
By 2018, the worker, who was 53, planned to remain at the Catalyst mill until he retired at 61. He felt that he was overworked and underpaid, but he felt secure in his job, despite some worries that the mill might shut down before he retired.
