Ask your question and an employment lawyer in Ontario, BC or Alberta will answer in minutes
My common law partner and I are both supervisors and have been in a relationship for 14 years and working together. Our company has been aware and have never found it to be an issue. Recently we had a compliance review carried out by someone from the company who we had conflict with in the past. During his questioning of the employees his questions were directed at revealing our relationship and then asking if now that they knew about the relationship would they find an issue with it? In the end the report said that the review determined that the perception and optic were that employees under our direction felt they could not come to one about an issue with the other. I believe the questions were misleading and this perception and optics was created by the individual interviewing. My company now wants to remove me from this position and put me in another supervisory position in another dept. I am 55 yrs old and do not want to have to start over at another Dept. I have been with this company for 17 yrs and my partner for 27 yrs. They have never had a complaint against us regarding our relationship except for once when the employee was being reprimanded. The company found the complaint to be false. The company has now placed our supervisory into question with our employees and I would like to leave the company but feel this warrants possible constructive dismissal.
Constructive dismissal occurs where an employer makes a unilateral change to a fundamental term of employment, which would include a change to remuneration, a relocation, a demotion, etc. However, employers do have the right to organize their workforce as required, and for the most part, a lateral change will not constitute a constructive dismissal. If the proposal is that you remain a supervisor, just in a different department, it is unlikely that this meets the threshold to prove a constructive dismissal.