Can an employer just transfer you?

[kvg]

I had a friend tell me that an employer can just transfer an employee to another location as long as it doesn't force them to have to move. I have a hard time believing that if their position isn't being moved or anything that employers can just shuffle people around if feel like it? True or False Beyond

[FraserB]

3. Transfers and Demotions

Generally, an employer cannot demote or transfer an employee or reduce wages without reasonable notice or the consent of the employee. If an employer does this, the employee may be able to treat this as a dismissal and ask for termination pay.



NOTE: Rules dealing with notice and termination pay do NOT apply to construction workers, seasonal workers, or those employed for a fixed period of time.

Right from the employment law. Looks like they can deal with it or quit.

[kvg]

I searched for that and I must have missed it, thanks you just won me a debate

[lilmira]

What would be a reasonable notice? Two weeks? Two months?

[03ozwhip]

my friend got transferred to a different branch within calgary with a couple weeks notice and no other choice. it wasnt because of his poor performance, in fact it was because of good performance and they needed that at their busiest location.

shit out of luck, if its for the good of the company, hes got to go or quit thats what they told him, so he transferred.

[FraserB]

Originally posted by lilmira
What would be a reasonable notice? Two weeks? Two months?

Probably depends on where the transfer is going to move the employee to.

New branch a short drive away? Two weeks is probably going to be considered to be reasonable. Move up to a different city? Probably a couple of months.

[LollerBrader]

Originally posted by 03ozwhip
my friend got transferred to a different branch within calgary with a couple weeks notice and no other choice. it wasnt because of his poor performance, in fact it was because of good performance and they needed that at their busiest location.

shit out of luck, if its for the good of the company, hes got to go or quit thats what they told him, so he transferred.

That's "Constructive dismissal".

Illegal.

[ZenOps]

Banks do it all the time.

Its policy to shuffle every now and then, but usually you will get shuffled back.

[D. Dub]

Originally posted by LollerBrader


That's "Constructive dismissal".

Illegal.

Nope it's not. Here's the quote from HRDC/Labour Standard's interpretation of the Labour Code:


"Examples

Reduced Hours, Salary, Status or Benefits

The employee's quitting due to a major reduction in an employee's hours of work or change in the location of employment is often sufficient to make up a constructive dismissal. However, there is no constructive dismissal where the employee is moved to another location in the same city or if the employee knew that potential relocation was part of the job".

http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/labour/ipg/033.shtml

[speedog]

One needs to know if the situation the OP is referring to falls under provincial or federal labour rules.

D. Dub is quoting federal rules while FraserB is quoting provincial rules - jurisdiction has a role here with respect to which rules a company has to abide by.

Federal labour rules do not apply to our company as we only operate in Alberta - find out more as to whether or not your workplace is federally or provincially regulated per the info at this Labour Canada web site, link.

Kind of pointless for people to be quoting labour rules when they don't know anything about the jurisdiction of the situation the OP is referring to.

[kvg]

So here in Calgary they could just transfer an employee if they gave the employee notice?

[Weapon_R]

Yes. And you can accept the transfer or your severance.

[ga16i]

"Generally, an employer cannot demote or transfer an employee or reduce wages without reasonable notice or the consent of the employee. If an employer does this, the employee may be able to treat this as a dismissal and ask for termination pay."

If FraserB's quoted text applies, then I read that as:

IF ( demote or transfer ) THEN employer must provide ( reasonable notice OR consent of employee ).
IF ( no reasonable notice AND no consent of employee ) THEN employee may be able to treat this as dismissal.

So either transfer or take it as being terminated.

Reading that more carefully, it reads like if employer provides reasonable notice, the employee does not get to treat that as a dismissal as the second part wouldn't apply.

So it reads like employer can just transfer you, and that affects whether or not you can treat that as a dismissal or not depending on if they gave reasonable notice.

It sounds kinda hard to say whether or not that answers your question of "employer can just transfer an employee to another location".

I think employers would generally prefer to have an employee quit rather than fire them. Especially if the employee has been around for a while since the required notice for employers to fire is lengthier than notice suggested for employees to quit. Affecting the amount of termination pay; might be a difference of 2 weeks vs 2 months. It doesn't sound like it says an employer isn't allowed to transfer employees, but it could cost them a lot more if they don't give reasonable notice. I'd liken that to paying a fine for doing something wrong. e.g., sure you could speed, but there's a table outlined for how much you should pay to do so.

[LollerBrader]

Originally posted by D. Dub



Nope it's not. Here's the quote from HRDC/Labour Standard's interpretation of the Labour Code:


"Examples

Reduced Hours, Salary, Status or Benefits

The employee's quitting due to a major reduction in an employee's hours of work or change in the location of employment is often sufficient to make up a constructive dismissal. However, there is no constructive dismissal where the employee is moved to another location in the same city or if the employee knew that potential relocation was part of the job".

http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/labour/ipg/033.shtml

Well done - Thank you.

[D. Dub]

Originally posted by LollerBrader


Well done - Thank you.

Except I might be wrong. As mentioned by someone else above -- provincial-federal jurisdiction could play a role. So you might be right - it might be constructive dismissal.