Employee's refusal to accept new position with company amounted to resignation
Wednesday, April 04, 2012 - Filed in: Courts
In Gillis v. Sobeys Group Inc., the Nova Scotia Supreme Court has ruled that an employee resigned and was not constructively dismissed when she declined an alternative position offered by the employer after it eliminated her position.
Finding that the employee's "emotional response" to the elimination of her position led her to mistakenly perceive the offer as a demotion rather than a sideways transfer, the judge ruled that the slightly lower salary, return to the store floor, and child care concerns in relation to the position's hours were not sufficient to warrant her refusal to accept the position and thus the change could not be deemed to be a constructive dismissal.