Taylor v. Salytics Inc., 2026 ONCA 621 (CanLII)

Labour and employment — Employment agreements — Temporary lay-off — Temporary lay-off implemented with benefits continued — Application for declaration of constructive dismissal and damages in lieu of notice — Appeal challenging ruling that lay-off clause was not a termination clause under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 — Appeal dismissedStatutory interpretation — Employment standards — Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 56 — Whether temporary lay-off clause is a termination clause under ESA — Distinction between terminations in s. 56(1) and temporary lay-offs in s. 56(2) — Effect of s. 56(4) temporary lay-off not termination — Appeal dismissedLabour and employment — Constructive dismissal — Temporary lay-off and common law backdrop — Unilateral lay-off constitutes constructive dismissal at common law, rights not readily implied (Pham v. Qualified Metal Fabricators Ltd., Elsegood v. Cambridge Spring Service (2001) Ltd.) — Whether lay-off is termination where agreement permits temporary lay-off in accordance with ESA — Appeal dismissedContracts — Interpretation — Employment agreement headings and substance — Whether location of clause under “Termination” heading converts temporary lay-off clause into termination clause — Agreement interpreted as a whole, headings not determinative, substance over form (Waksdale v. Swegon North America Inc.) — Temporary lay-off clause incorporates ESA requirements — Appeal dismissed