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A move is usually not associated with litigation. But the problem isn`t as dry as many HR professionals think. Something as simple in appearance as a business move can trigger various legal difficulties. Robert W. Sikkel, a partner in Warner, Norcross & Judd LLP`s Holland, Michigan office, offers the do`s and don`ts of moving employees. Your new job may be different from your old job, but better paid and with the chance of personal development. It may be helpful to arrange a trial period at the new location, perhaps while you`re moving or moving to temporary housing to see if you like the new job. It`s a good idea to consider a trial moving phase. This would give the employee the opportunity to try to work on the new location for a few weeks and see what they think of a permanent move. Some companies, in an effort to reduce their overall footprint and reduce overhead, have chosen to close some offices and relocate these employees to a new location. Energy company Suncor has announced plans to move employees from its head office in Calgary from two Ontario offices, which could affect more than 700 workers. If you accept a probationary period, it is a good idea to do so in advance and in writing.

If you are in a situation of dismissal, you are legally entitled to a probationary period of four weeks. If you decide to move, even to a new position, your employment will be uninterrupted and your legal rights will remain unchanged. Employees without a mobility clause in their contract can choose whether they want to move or not. If the employer does not have the contractual right to transfer you, they have another option. The employer may make changes to your employment by giving you reasonable notice of the change. This includes changes to your location. So if you`ve worked in a company for five years and they want to move you but don`t have the contractual right to do so, they can adequately inform you in advance of the move – probably in the range of five to eight months, depending on the details of your job. The notice period required before the move would correspond either to the contractual amount of the notice period required for the notice period or to the reasonable notice period if the contract does not specify the required notice period. Your consent is more obvious if the employment contract contains a valid relocation or “mobility” clause. This gives the employer the right to move you to another location. If such a clause exists, the employer can probably make you move within the limits of the clause.

For example, if the clause provided for a move between offices in the Greater Vancouver Area, the employer would not legitimately persuade you to move to Victoria. You could agree to do that, but it would not be a requirement for the job. If your employer moves his company, your situation will initially depend on the terms of your employment contract. If they don`t want to move, you should try discussing the different options with them. Depending on the type of move you offer, it may mean that they have a longer or more expensive commute to work. If the new location is far from their current workplace, they may be forced to move and worry about the upheaval of their family`s move. With this in mind, you need to explain the reasons for the move and determine if there are ways to reduce the burden. For example, is there an option to work from home or can they work from another location? If you currently work in one city and your employer wants you to move to another city to continue working, you`ll probably have to move if you want to keep your job. An employer can`t force you to do something you don`t want to do, but they can force you to agree to the terms and conditions to continue working with the company.

Welcome to the mystery of “all-you-can-eat” employment, where employers don`t need a good reason to let you go or keep you. If you`re not sure about your situation, ask your boss directly if moving isn`t a reason to give up or if you can decline a promotion and stay. If you reject the company`s request to transfer, the company may decide to dismiss you. Keep in mind that a company can legally fire an employee for any reason, provided the reason is non-discriminatory and the appropriate amount of severance pay is provided. There may be a clause in the employee`s employment contract that allows the employer to transfer the employee to another location. This is called the mobility clause. If you don`t want to move with your employer, you may become superfluous because: Large moves, such as to another country or city, usually require prior agreement. If the move is more local, the impact of the move is weighed against the importance of the position. In one case, an employer attempted to force a move that extended the employee`s journey by forty minutes. It was a constructive dismissal. The employee had the right to work from her city office and could not be forced to move. No.

Your employer can`t move you into a new office if they significantly increase your travel time or force you to uproot yourself or your family. Some situations can allow an employer to change office locations without violating an employee`s rights. If you have signed an employment contract, it may contain conditions that give a company the express right to have a move carried out. A transfer can also be an implicit practice for certain positions in a company, based on many factors. If you do not have a mobility clause in your contract and the move is more than a short distance, you can choose not to travel. In this case, your employer may fire you. If an employer decides to move premises, even if it is a very short distance, this is a potential dismissal situation because one of the legal definitions of dismissal is a job closure. However, as mentioned earlier, employers can avoid a dismissal situation in this regard if they have a mobility clause in their contracts and can choose to exercise this clause as an alternative to dismissals.

If your employer is trying to move you, the answer is not as simple as deciding whether or not to move to the new location. The expectations of both parties must be taken into account, as well as the impact that the move will have on you. If you are facing a move, contact us to know your rights and determine the best way for you. If there is an explicit mobility clause, the employee must move to the new premises or workplaces, provided that the employer adequately exercises its discretion under that clause. What is considered “reasonable” is not defined in any law, but for example, it would not be “appropriate” to move an employee from London to Manchester and notify them only 24 hours in advance. For parents of young children, a complete return to the job market means that they have a high, affordable quality. In the second case, the employer decided to move the offices from Vancouver to San Francisco, but had never told its employees that a move would be necessary. An employee refused to move and the employer treated her as fired.

It was an illegal dismissal. The employer did not have the right to transfer the employee who could not be considered dismissed. She was entitled to 12 months` reasonable notice, including the payment of significant premiums she would have earned during the 12-month notice period. Some contracts include a “mobility clause” that states that you must travel within certain limits. Severance pay can be up to 24 months` salary and is based on several factors, including age, position, salary, commission, benefits, and years spent with the company. Illegal dismissal occurs when a company does not provide sufficient severance pay. Can my employer require me to move to an office in another city or province? Similar to a pay cut or a change in work obligations, a move is a change in the terms and conditions of employment agreed between you and the company. You can treat the requested change of scenery as a constructive dismissal, contact the Samfiru Tumarkin LLP team for help, and leave the company with full severance pay. If the employee insists that he or she does not want to move, there may be a situation of dismissal because his or her workplace no longer exists in his or her current workplace.

Companies move for many reasons, the need to reduce costs, find larger premises, restructure or merge with another company. When your employer moves, you have certain rights and obligations. Employers can fire their employees if they choose not to move. The next important question is what impact the move will have on you. This question is about both the impact on your life, for example if you will be away from the family, and your position, for example. if you perform the same tasks or if you have the same reporting structure. The more efficient the move, the less likely it is that the employer will have the right to move you. If your employer wants you to move and you just can`t stand it, there`s really only one other option: start looking for a new job.

If you tell your supervisor that you`d rather leave than move, they may try to make concessions to keep you, especially if you`re a unique and valuable employee. More likely, however, you`ll search for the search ads and hope for the best. You may be able to accumulate unemployment, but you must first be laid off to qualify. Here, too, each mobility clause must be exercised appropriately. If the new workplace is very close to the old one, that`s not a problem.