Canada Labour Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. L-2)

Marginal note:Application of section 189

209.5 Section 189 applies for the purposes of this Division.

DIVISION VIIIBereavement Leave

Marginal note:Employee entitled

• 210 (1) Every employee is entitled to and shall be granted, in the event of the death of a member of their immediate family or a family member in respect of whom the employee is, at the time of the death, on leave under section 206.3 or 206.4, a leave of absence from employment of up to 10 days that may be taken during the period that begins on the day on which the death occurs and ends six weeks after the latest of the days on which any funeral, burial or memorial service of the deceased person occurs.

• Marginal note:Extension

  (1.1) At the request of the employee, the employer may extend, in writing, the period during which the leave of absence from employment may be taken.

• Marginal note:Division of leave

  (1.2) The leave of absence may be taken in one or two periods. The employer may require that any period of leave be of not less than one day’s duration.

• Marginal note:Notice to employer

  (1.3) Every employee who takes the leave of absence shall, as soon as possible, provide the employer with written notice of the beginning of any period of leave of absence and of the length of that leave.

• Marginal note:Bereavement leave with pay

  (2) If the employee has completed three consecutive months of continuous employment with the employer, the employee is entitled to the first three days of the leave with pay at their regular rate of wages for their normal hours of work, and such pay shall for all purposes be considered to be wages.

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (3) The Governor in Council may make regulations

  • (a) defining the expression “immediate family” for the purposes of subsection (1);

  • (b) defining the expressions “regular rate of wages” and “normal hours of work” for the purposes of subsection (2); and

  • (c) for the purposes of this Division, defining the absences from employment that shall be deemed not to have interrupted continuity of employment.

• Marginal note:Application of section 189

  (4) Section 189 applies for the purposes of this Division.

DIVISION IXGroup Termination of Employment

Marginal note:Definitions

211 In this Division,

joint planning committee

joint planning committee means a committee established pursuant to section 214; (comité mixte)

redundant employee

redundant employee means an employee whose employment is to be terminated pursuant to a notice under section 212; (surnuméraire)

trade union

trade union means a trade union that is certified under Part I to represent any redundant employee or that is recognized by an employer of any redundant employee as the bargaining agent for that employee. (syndicat)

Marginal note:Notice of group termination

• 212 (1) Any employer who terminates, either simultaneously or within any period not exceeding four weeks, the employment of a group of 50 or more employees employed by the employer within a particular industrial establishment, or of such lesser number of employees as prescribed by regulations applicable to the employer made under paragraph 227(b), shall, in addition to any notice required to be given under section 230, give notice to the Head, in writing, of his intention to so terminate at least 16 weeks before the date of termination of the employment of the employee in the group whose employment is first to be terminated.

• Marginal note:Copies of notice

  (2) A copy of any notice given to the Head under subsection (1) must be given immediately by the employer to the Minister of Employment and Social Development and the Canada Employment Insurance Commission and any trade union representing a redundant employee, and if any redundant employee is not represented by a trade union, a copy of that notice must be given to the employee or immediately posted by the employer in a conspicuous place within the industrial establishment in which that employee is employed.

• Marginal note:Contents of notice

  (3) A notice referred to in subsection (1) shall set out

  • (a) the date or dates on which the employer intends to terminate the employment of any one or more employees;

  • (b) the estimated number of employees in each occupational classification whose employment will be terminated; and

  • (c) such other information as is prescribed by the regulations.

• Marginal note:Where employer deemed to terminate employment

  (4) Except where otherwise prescribed by regulation, an employer shall, for the purposes of this Division, be deemed to have terminated the employment of an employee where the employer lays off that employee.

Marginal note:Cooperation with Commission

• 213 (1) An employer who gives notice to the Head under section 212 and any trade union to which a copy of that notice is given must give the Canada Employment Insurance Commission any information requested by it for the purpose of assisting any redundant employee and must cooperate with the Commission to facilitate the re-establishment in employment of that employee.

• Marginal note:Statement of benefits

  (2) An employer who gives notice to the Head under section 212 shall give each redundant employee, as soon as possible after the notice is so given but in any case not later than two weeks before the date of the termination of the employment of the employee, a statement in writing setting out, as at the date of the statement, his vacation benefits, wages, severance pay and any other benefits and pay arising from his employment with that employer.

Marginal note:Establishment of joint planning committee

• 214 (1) An employer who gives notice to the Head under section 212 must, as soon as possible after giving the notice, establish a joint planning committee consisting of any number of members that is required or permitted by this section and sections 215 and 217.

• Marginal note:Minimum number of members

  (2) A joint planning committee established under subsection (1) shall consist of at least four members.

• Marginal note:Appointment of members

  (3) At least half of the members of a joint planning committee shall be appointed, in accordance with subsections 215(1), (2) and (3), as representatives of the redundant employees and the rest of the members shall be appointed, in accordance with subsection 215(5), as representatives of the employer.

Marginal note:Employee representatives

• 215 (1) Where all redundant employees are represented by a trade union or trade unions, each trade union is entitled to appoint at least one member of the joint planning committee as a representative of the redundant employees it represents.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) Where no redundant employees are represented by a trade union, the employees are entitled to appoint all the members of a joint planning committee who are to be their representatives.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (3) Where some but not all redundant employees are represented by a trade union or trade unions,

  • (a) each trade union is entitled to appoint at least one member of a joint planning committee as a representative of the redundant employees it represents; and

  • (b) the employees that are not represented by a trade union are entitled to appoint at least one member of a joint planning committee as their representative.

• Marginal note:Election

  (4) Each person appointed as a member of a joint planning committee pursuant to subsection (2) or paragraph (3)(b) shall be elected by the redundant employees entitled to appoint the member.

• Marginal note:Employer representatives

  (5) An employer is entitled to appoint, as his representatives on a joint planning committee, a number of members not exceeding the number of members to be appointed to the committee pursuant to subsections (1), (2) and (3).

Marginal note:Time for appointment

216 The members of a joint planning committee must be appointed and must convene for their first sitting within two weeks after the date of the notice given to the Head under section 212.

Marginal note:Failure to appoint

217 If a trade union fails, or redundant employees fail, to appoint a member to a joint planning committee as provided in sections 214 and 215, the Head may, on application of any redundant employee, appoint a member to the committee in lieu of that trade union or those employees, as the case may be, and that member is a representative of the redundant employees represented by the trade union or of the redundant employees who failed to appoint the member, as the case may be.

Marginal note:Notice of membership

218 On completion of the appointment of the members of a joint planning committee, the employer shall post the names of those members in a conspicuous place within the industrial establishment in which the redundant employees are employed.

Marginal note:Procedure

• 219 (1) Subject to this Division, a joint planning committee may determine its own procedure.

• Marginal note:Co-chairpersons

  (2) The members of a joint planning committee shall elect from among themselves two co-chairpersons, one being a representative of the redundant employees selected by their representatives and the other being a representative of the employer selected by his representatives.

• Marginal note:Sittings

  (3) The co-chairpersons of a joint planning committee may, after consultation with the other members of the committee, fix the time and place of its sittings and shall notify the members of the time and place so fixed.

• Marginal note:Quorum

  (4) A majority of the members of a joint planning committee in office, at least half of which majority are representatives of the redundant employees, constitutes a quorum, but the members shall not proceed in the absence of any member of the committee at any sitting unless the absent member has been given reasonable notice of the sitting.

• Marginal note:Vacancy

  (5) Where any vacancy occurs in the membership of a joint planning committee before the committee has completed its work, the vacancy shall be filled forthwith in the manner provided in this Division for the selection of the person who vacated that membership.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (6) A vacancy in the membership of a joint planning committee does not invalidate the constitution of the committee or impair the right of the members of the committee in office to act, if the number of those members is not less than a quorum.

• Marginal note:Decision

  (7) A decision or other act or thing taken or done by a majority of the members of a joint planning committee present at a sitting of the committee, if the members present constitute a quorum, shall be deemed to have been taken or done by the committee.

Marginal note:Wages

220 A member of a joint planning committee is entitled to such time from work as is necessary to attend sittings of the committee or to carry out any other functions as such a member, and any time spent by the member in carrying out any functions as a member shall, for the purpose of calculating wages owing to the member, be deemed to have been spent at his work.

Marginal note:Object of joint planning committee

• 221 (1) It is the object of a joint planning committee to develop an adjustment program to

  • (a) eliminate the necessity for the termination of employment; or

  • (b) minimize the impact of the termination of employment on the redundant employees and to assist those employees in obtaining other employment.

• Marginal note:Scope of matters considered

  (2) In attaining its object under subsection (1), a joint planning committee may, unless the members of the committee agree otherwise, deal only with such matters as are normally the subject-matter of collective agreement in relation to the termination of employment.

• Marginal note:Reasonable effort

  (3) The members of a joint planning committee shall cooperate and make every reasonable effort to develop an adjustment program as expeditiously as possible.

• Marginal note:Cooperation with committee

  (4) The employer and any trade union or redundant employees who appointed the members of a joint planning committee shall cooperate with and assist the committee in developing an adjustment program.

Marginal note:Supplying of information

• 222 (1) The employer and any trade union or redundant employees who appointed the members of a joint planning committee shall, on request of any member of the committee, forthwith provide the committee with such personal information relating to any redundant employee as the committee may reasonably require for its work.

• Marginal note:Head

  (2) The Head may

  • (a) monitor and, on request, assist in the establishment and operation of a joint planning committee; and

  • (b) attend any sittings of a joint planning committee as an observer.

Marginal note:Application to Minister for arbitrator

• 223 (1) Where all members of a joint planning committee who are representatives of the redundant employees agree to do so or where all members of a joint planning committee who are representatives of the employer agree to do so, those members may, after six weeks from the date of the notice to the Minister under section 212, apply jointly to the Minister for the appointment of an arbitrator if

  • (a) the committee has not then completed developing an adjustment program; or

  • (b) the committee has completed developing an adjustment program, but those members are not satisfied with the program or any part of the program.

• Marginal note:Form and contents of application

  (2) An application under subsection (1) shall be in writing and signed by the members making the application and shall set out the matters, if any, in dispute respecting the adjustment program.