Practice Areas

Small and mid-size employers face a particular challenge in regards to an ever-changing legal and compliance landscape. The same employers are also vulnerable to workplace-related litigation.

At Donkor Employment & Labour Law, we provide cost efficient employment law counsel to entrepreneurs, in-house counsel, human resource personnel, and senior management teams in order to ensure that risks are identified and mitigated. Accordingly, among our services for employers are the following:

• The preparation and/or review of employment contracts, policies and procedures, employee handbooks, independent contractual agreements and other employment-related documentation;

• Assistance and guidance regarding employment standards legislation, occupational health and safety, and workers’ compensation schemes;

• Support, guidance and representation in regards to employee discipline, employee terminations, layoffs, and wrongful dismissal litigation;

• Assisting employer clients in carrying out employment-related due diligence in relation to mergers and acquisitions; and

• Employment-related litigation.

More often than not, employees are placed in a David v. Goliath situation: They are pitted against employers who have more knowledge and resources at their disposal. This experience can be intimidating and uncomfortable for many employees.

At Donkor Employment & Labour Law, our goal is to even the playing the field so that employees can feel confident in asserting their rights. We do this by firstly by educating our clients on the law, and secondly, partnering with them to devise an optimal strategy based on reasonable expectations. As such, the following are among our services to employees:

• Employment agreement review, advice and negotiation;

• Independent contractual matters;

• Severance package review and negotiation;

• Wrongful dismissal litigation;

• Workplace Investigation support/advocacy;

• Human Rights advocacy; and

• Disability and accommodation issues.

Managing a unionized relationship can be daunting. More often than not, employers are ill-equipped to deal with the plethora of legal issues that can arise with the presence of a bargaining unit representative. At Donkor Employment & Labour Law, our goal is to allow you to focus on building and establishing positive relations with your union business partners. Accordingly, we offer assistance in the following areas:

• Union organizing drives ;

• Collective bargaining;

• Collective Agreement Interpretation;

• Grievance arbitration;

• Strike/lockouts; and

• Injunctions.

Human Rights Law is an ever-evolving body of law that impacts almost all aspects of the working relationship. Provincial and Federal legislation provides protection for employees against discrimination regarding any of the enumerated grounds including, but not limited to race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, record of offences, marital status, family status or disability.

For employees, we help you understand your rights in order to assist you in what can be a very difficult set of circumstances. For employers, we help you to devise strategies that mitigate risk and exposure, particularly in relation to recruitment and selection processes, as well as workplace accommodation issues.

Donkor Employment & Labour Law specializes in conducting third-party workplace investigations that are fair, independent, thorough, and timely. Recognizing that our findings of fact and conclusions may be relied upon in the event of litigation, we leave no stone unturned. In encouraging our clients to be proactive, and where appropriate, we also offer sound recommendations in the aftermath of an investigation. Our investigative services cover the following areas:

• Workplace Harassment;

• Workplace Discrimination;

• Sexual Harassment;

• Poisoned Work Environment;

• Conflict of Interest; and

• Workplace Violence.

Education law is essentially an umbrella encompassing a broad cross scope of legal areas, including tort, personal injury, privacy, health and safety, and labour and employment law. Having acted for both school boards, staff and families, our firm is well-versed in the nuances of this near and dear practice area. In this area, our services include:

• Suspension hearings;

• Expulsion hearings;

• Special education; and

• Administrator and Executive Level representation.