The BC Supreme Court awarded 19 months of pay in lieu of notice to the wrongfully dismissed plaintiff in Smith v. Pacific Coast Terminals Co. Ltd, 2016 BCSC 1876. Relevant factors included:
- Plaintiff’s age: 48
- Length of service: 16.5 years
- Job: Manager of maintenance/engineering
- Notice period: 19 months
The plaintiff’s duties were described by the Court as follows:
“Mr. Smith is a professional engineer and was responsible for the maintenance department and the engineering department of the defendant…As manager of maintenance and engineering, Mr. Smith was responsible for the engineering and maintenance activities of the company, including labour relations, and the maintenance and capital construction at the defendant’s terminal facilities. Mr. Smith had limited signing authority but was involved in regular discussions with other senior employees of Pacific Coast involving planning, budgeting and the overall operations of Pacific Coast. This included its large construction projects.”Â
Note: The employer unsuccessfully appealed, arguing that there was just cause for the dismissal. The appeal decision can be found here.