HR Heartbeat: Denied vacations, proving mental injury at work and...

Welcome to HR Heartbeat, where we take a look at the week’s most pressing HR and employment law stories. With over a decade of experience working within the HR and employment law industry, I give my opinion on current trends impacting your business, as well as my own personal commentary on all things HR and legal.

A tough lesson on proving psychological injury

Even with confirmed bullying and harassment, a worker’s psychological injury claim was rejected by Alberta’s Appeals Commission for Workers’ Compensation.

The panel ruled there wasn’t enough evidence to prove that workplace incidents caused the worker’s depression and anxiety. A family tragedy was the main trigger.

Here's what happened. The worker said their manager called them names and made inappropriate comments many times. But, an independent investigator was only able to verify one incident.

In Alberta, there's a high bar for proving a workplace is causing proving psychological harm. This includes a confirmed diagnosis, verified events and a clear causation. In this case, there just wasn't enough evidence.

There's a growing expectation for employers to focus on employees mental wellbeing. And while the worker lost their claim in this case, employers nationwide should take note. It’s crucial to keep protecting and promoting mental health best practices in every workplace.

Vacation denied? This case says think again

An Ontario arbitrator has ruled that employers shouldn’t make it difficult for staff to take pre-approved vacation time. Flexibility and fairness should guide every scheduling decision.

In this case, the business had a rigid vacation system with strict limits on how many employees could be off at once. The rule was so restrictive that some workers couldn’t take vacation even when the business was fully staffed.

The decision doesn’t prohibit vacation quotas but makes it clear they must be reasonable, transparent, and open to review.

It’s a timely reminder for employers to always balance operational demands with employee rights. Before denying a time-off request, consider options like backfilling or using part-time staff to maintain coverage.

Clear, consistent vacation policies that give staff advance notice and choice help prevent disputes and build trust. And these days, there are handy tech tools that make tracking and approving vacation simple. Because in the end, rigidity risks grievances and reasonableness builds respect.

Retaliation, restructuring, and the risk of getting it wrong

The Ontario Labour Relations Board has ruled that a company firing a manager after they filed a workplace harassment complaint was unlawful.

The worker reported several inappropriate incidents at company events through the company's confidential channel, and an external investigation confirmed policy breaches.

But, the worker soon faced retaliation. Their role was arbitrarily changed and their clients were reassigned to other managers. The worker was eventually terminated under what the company called a 'restructuring".

The Labour Relations Board found no documentation to back up the company's claims of performance issues or restructuring plans. And since it's the employers responsibility to prove a dismissal isn’t connected to an employee exercising their rights, their shifting explanations and lack of transparency weakened their defense.

The message to employers here is clear. If an employee raises a harassment concern, retaliation isn’t just wrong, it’s illegal.

And that’s a wrap from me. Tune in next time for my take on the latest headlines and employment law stories, helping keep your business ahead!