--000000000000865d5a061d9af5f0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="000000000000865d59061d9af5ef" --000000000000865d59061d9af5ef Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi Elizabeth, Just wanted to clarify whether it is necessary to pay a lump sum to the contract bookkeeping employee upon termination. It appears that there is no contract on file for this employee with TheKey or the prior organization. Given this information, we want to ensure that we are in good legal standing if we proceed with the termination, either with or without payment. Could you kindly provide your guidance and thoughts on this matter= ? Thank you for your assistance. *Christa Carter-Mark, SPHR, PMP* *Sr. Human Resources Manager - East/Canada* *christa.cartermark@thekey.com * TheKey.com [image: TheKey] *I'm sending this email during my designated work hours; please don't feel obligated to respond outside of your own. Please allow 24-48 hours for a response, excluding weekends.* On Fri, Jun 28, 2024 at 9:00=E2=80=AFAM Elizabeth Reid w= rote: > Hi Christa, > > > > Thank you for this information. A few points/questions: > > > > 1. The governing law will be in Alberta, so I will bring in one of my > colleagues in that province to confirm my advice below (although I don= =E2=80=99t > believe the law in BC and Alberta differs markedly with respect to > contractors). > > > > 2. I would not recommend terminating this contract on July 1 as that > is a statutory holiday here and a court would find it insensitive. A= t the > very earliest, you could terminate the contact on July 2, but I think = we > will need a bit more time than that to prepare. > > > > 3. As a general rule, in the absence of any explicit contractual > obligation, a contractor can be terminated at any time without notice = or > pay in lieu. *However*, if this contractor has been with the previous > organization since 2017, there is a risk that she is either (a) not a > contractor at all but an employee or (b) a dependent contractor, which= is > an intermediate category between an employee and an independent > contractor. People who fall within the dependent contractor category = are > still entitled to notice or pay in lieu of notice (although only at co= mmon > law =E2=80=93 they do not get statutory notice). Some courts use the = same ranges > for dependent contractors as they would for employees, while others aw= ard > slightly less because of their slightly different status. In a worst = case > scenario, if she were an employee or a dependent contractor, she could= be > entitled to as much as 6 =E2=80=93 7 months=E2=80=99 notice (subject t= o mitigation). > > > > 4. While not strictly required if she is a contractor, it would be > best practice to have a chat with her advising of the termination of h= er > services with a letter confirming the end of the contract and the effe= ctive > date of the termination. > > > > 5. To assess whether Ms. Wood is a con