DAYS OF THE BOSS TERRORIZING STAFF ARE OVER.

Sweeting left the meeting in tears, never to return and sued for constructive dismissal.

Dr. Mok’s defence was that this one inappropriate incident in 22 years was insufficient for Sweeting to regard herself as constructively dismissed. Justice Myrna Lack of the Ontario Superior Court disagreed — as did the Ontario Court of Appeal. Dr. Mok had a duty to treat his long-term employee with dignity and civility. His behaviour and hostility was so egregious that Sweeting had a right to treat the employment agreement as repudiated and not await a formal termination. The trial judge’s award of 24 months of pay was similarly upheld.

The message from our courts is unequivocal — the days of the omnipotent boss terrorizing staff with impunity are over.

Employers can take the following steps to reduce the risks of managerial misconduct:

Mandate a policy on respect and dignity wherein management commits itself to respectful treatment of staff in the workplace. That message must permeate the organizational culture.

Deal with offenders: Employees who know that their management will take disciplinary action are likely to behave properly.

Empower staff: Employees who are being improperly berated should be aware of their ability to withdraw from the situation without penalty.

Require an apology: any manager who misconducts themselves should be compelled to apologize to the offended employee.

Follow up on any incident: Dr. Mok did not contact Sweeting after her departure. The court considered this a factor in reinforcing Sweetman’s view that she had been effectively terminated. Had he done so, the conclusion to that relationship may not have ended in court.