Casual legal: Seasonal staff employment contracts
DISCLAIMER: This article is meant to provide information to Alberta Municipalities members only and is not intended to provide legal advice. You should seek the advice of legal counsel to address your specific set of circumstances. Although every effort has been made to provide current and accurate information, changes to the law may cause the information in this article to be outdated. This content is not intended for the general public.
By Andrew Skeith
Reynolds Mirth Richards Farmer LLP
Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Service Provider
Many municipalities hire short term “seasonal” employees to perform outdoor landscaping and maintenance in the summer. These positions are usually seasonal in the sense that they begin and end with the spring and summer season. However, labeling a position as “seasonal” is not enough to limit an employee’s entitlements to reasonable notice on termination.
If a seasonal employee does not have a proper fixed-term contract, their employment is presumed to be indefinite. That means that at the end of the “season” the employer would still be required to give reasonable notice of termination. If there is no termination clause in the employment agreement, then the employer would be obligated to provide common law reasonable notice of termination.
Some court decisions have found that the seasonal nature of employment may warrant an increased notice period, since if an employee is terminated at the end of the season, it will take a number of months before the next season begins and they are able to start new work.
It is therefore important to have all seasonal staff sign proper fixed-term employment contracts prior to starting work. Employment contracts should have fixed start and end dates and stipulate that at the end of the term the employment relationship comes to an end without any further obligation to provide reasonable notice to the employee. There should also be a termination clause allowing the employer to terminate while providing the minimums set out in the Employment Standards Code. This minimizes any severance obligations that may accrue in the event that a termination is required before the end of the term.
To access Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Helpline, Alberta Municipalities members can call toll-free to 1-800-661-7673 or casuallegal [at] abmunis.ca (email) to reach the municipal legal experts at Reynolds Mirth Richards and Farmer LLP. For more information on the Casual Legal Service, please call 310-MUNI (6864) or riskcontrol [at] abmunis.ca (email) to connect with Alberta Municipalities Risk Management staff. Any Regular or Associate member of Alberta Municipalities can access the Casual Legal Service.
