Digest of Benefit Entitlement Principles - Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
VOLUNTARILY LEAVING EMPLOYMENT
6.3.11 Antagonistic Relations Between an Employee and a Supervisor
In every workplace there is conflict between employees and their supervisors1. There are many opportunities for and causes of such conflict: the employee does not perform his or her duties to the supervisor's liking, the person is frequently late, the supervisor is too demanding, the employee and supervisor see things differently or there is a personality conflict.
In some isolated instances, the situation may well be serious enough to constitute just cause for voluntarily leaving, as might be the case if an employer made unfair comments about an employee and cast doubt on his or her honesty.
Generally, occasional friction, animosity or conflict is certainly not going to improve the work atmosphere, but these situations do not in themselves constitute just cause for leaving employment. If each person makes a reasonable effort to accommodate differences and find a common ground, the situation should not degenerate into constant or unsolvable conflict.
What happens on occasion can happen more frequently and eventually weigh heavily on the work atmosphere and make it completely unbearable, as may be the case if a supervisor regularly makes hurtful or injurious remarks or humiliates an employee in front of others.
A reasonable alternative could be to report the situation to a higher level, request a transfer or contact the union. If there are no reasonable alternatives or the reasonable alternative fails, a person certainly has just cause for leaving the employment. No one should have to indefinitely endure an intolerable work atmosphere or regular conflict created by superiors.
A person would not have just cause, however, if he or she were largely responsible for the conflict and he or she had ultimately aggravated the situation.
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Summary
Antagonistic Relations Between an Employee and a Supervisor |
Reasonable Alternatives:
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