billo23

I was wondering If anyone could help us. Myself, wife and Daughter were due to arrive in Vancouver in 4 weeks with everything approved. The company I was due to work for has had the LMO approved and all that was to do was pick my work permit up at the airport on arrival.

Yesterday I received devastating news that job I was due to work on is no longer available, which means that my position is too. The company has since resindered my job offer and contract which means we can no longer fulfill our dream of moving to Vancouver.

Can they do this ??????? Surely if I have signed an offer of employment I should have some cover. To make matters worse our personal belongings have now been shipped and are due to arrive in 12 weeks, we have rented our house out in the UK for 3 years (the duration of my contract) and we have both handed in our notices at our current jobs and worked our notices. As you could understand my wife is devastated we don’t have our house, car, possessions our even employment.

Will the LMO still be ok to use with a different company if I can find work? and is this whole thing legal. ?

iaink

Man, that sucks, although Im pretty sure the company doesnt want to be in this position either.


Unfortunately canadian employment law is generally pretty weak, but I would consult with a canadian lawyer specialising in employment law to see what your options are regarding compensation.

I dont think it likely they can make them employ you, or pay out for the three year contract (if that is indeed what you have) and legally severance wont be great, given that you never actually worked for them, However some legal pressure might be applied to compensate you for the total inconvenience, and much depends what exactly you have agreed on paper with them regarding contractual terms.

I'd talk to your old employer ASAP too about the option of going back if you left on good terms.

What a nightmare though, you have my sympathy.


The LMO is really only valid for that one job, but if you have the work permit it will still be valid for resident status, even though you wont be able to work at another job without jumping through the official hoops. Sounds like you never got that far though.

Aviator

1. I would be careful what you say in a public forum about an individual or company, you may find yourself in a situation worse than you are in now.

2. You talk about job offers and contracts, which to you have? Unless you have a binding contract, a job offer can be rescinded at any time, just the same as an employee can be let go or can leave without notice. You would need to talk to an employment lawyer as to what recourse you may have, if any. You could just as easily started and been let go a week later if there is a lack of work. Unfortunately this is a gamble one takes with work permits.

3. A LMO is specific not only to a business, but also a job. So if the job had been canceled and the same comapny had offered you something else, they would have had to get a new LMO. Any other job you seek would require a new LMO.

If you decide to come to Canada, you would be considered a visitor without a valid LMO or work permit.

J-A-UK

OMG - and we thought we had it rough...... They say there's always someone worse off!! But holy shit what a state you are in - I have no idea what the legal situation is but we were in contact with the employment standards people in Winnipeg, and they were pretty helpful in our case. I think I would try to contact the "local" employment standards in the city where the employer is registered. There are laws, but I'm not too sure if they cover your situation, morals don't seem to play a part.
Wish you well - I don't know you but I feel for you,

Aviator

Employment standards will only cover employees, if you have not started they don't apply. Even then employers can let an employee go in the first 3 months for any reason with no compensation. After three months, with notice, still no compensation. The only exception would be if a contract were in place, then employment standards would not get involved, you'd need a contracts lawyer.

Businesses are in business to make money for the owners, if their circumstances change, they have to make decisions for their business. As hard as it is for individuals, they have to consider the well being of the business, for the sake of the other employees as well as their investment. Morals have nothing to do with it. On the flip side, there are also many employees who don't bother to show up and you never hear from them again, other than to get money, and those that quit on a days notice with no concern for their employer or how the employer will manage. They don't seem to have any morals at all.

iaink

Now, the flip side of this is to not piss on your own shoes.

Right now economic times are tough all over, but that can and will change. You want to move to Vancouver...this company wanted to employ you and was in a position to make that happen. In 6 months who's to say that might not be the case again.

Talk to them about the situation you are in and the expenses you have incurred, see what they are prepared to do, and dont burn any bridges unless you have some legal recourse to compensation that they are withholding from you.

This may seem at odds with advice to seek legal opinions, but I was laid off from the job that brought me here about three years in (shortly after getting PR status), and they suggested I get a second legal opinion, which I did. As a result I got an extra months severance pay, but throughout we managed to keep things on good terms, which was just as well because 3 years after that I was back working at the same place and have been ever since. Try not to burn any bridges here.

dbd33

So morals do come into it, but only for the employee?

Piff Poff

That is sooo unlucky but unfortunately with the current recession jobs are being lost all over, the company is obviously struggling in some way and may have had to make redundancies. I feel for you.

The company I work for has just sought Bankruptcy protection - who knows how long I will be working for them, I am lucky in the fact that we have PR but it is much harder to get a job now than it was 4 years ago, when companies just checked your pulse. Good luck for the future.

Aviator

Many employers will give notice to employees if they are going to lay them off and abide by employment standards. Canceling a job offer or laying off an employee for economic reasons is a business decision not a moral one. A business would not survive long by keeping employees on regardless of the economic impact on their business. Perhaps in certain circumstances the decent thing to do may be to compensate an individual for expenses incurred.

If an employer lets an employee go without notice or just cause, they are bound to pay severance. An employee leaves without notice and too bad on the employer. Employment law is generally fairly balanced, perhaps skewed a little more toward the employee. Make it too difficult on the employer and unemployment results.

HR was always the biggest nightmare to be involved in. Over recent years a buddy and I have run a small business. On retirement from my full time job I plan to work in it with him. We have some exceptional employees who work very hard, we look after them very well and they look after us. On the other hand we've had some who seem to have no scruples at all, we look after them and they take all they can get. Fortunately they have been in the minority.

dbd33

The first may be true in the UK, here in Canada employment law offers the employee next to nothing, "don't like your tie" is a legitimate basis to fire someone regardless of time with the firm. The second is opinion that can't be substantiated, there aren't high levels of unemployment in countries with employee protection laws; Germany and the Nordic countries being examples.

It's not something decided entirely on moral grounds and yet it has a moral dimension, which staff member to axe and in what manner to do so are decisions commonly made on capricious grounds though they could as well be made with consideration of the moral dimension; one might choose to keep the employee most in need of the job rather than one's closest relative. In reality it's no more likely that an employer acts solely for economic reasons than an employee, employers are just people they're as whim driven as anyone else. Some don't like women in the workplace, some don't like immigrants, they discriminate because, as owners of the firm, they can.

The original poster seems to be up shit creek. The value of the thread is in readers knowing that Canadian employers can, and often do, follow the Monty Burns approach to management.

MR79

Billo23 so sorry to hear about what has happened...........

MR79

NessieOggy

Hi Billo23

I've sent you some contact information for people that I'm hoping may be able to assist you. Please check your messages.

Spritzer

I've bumped this back up - I really can't get over what has happened to you and would like to know what you do.... or can do. Were the links any help?

billo23

Unfortunately the links didnt`t help much. Apparently they are well within their rights to do what they did, this just means I am stuck with no job, car or house I just wish they could see the devastation they have caused.

nikki dreaming

I am so sorry to hear of your situation,

What line of work are you in?

As another posted mentioned if you were to proceed with coming to Canada now you would be regarded as a visitor and I would exercise some caution with this as you currently have no specific ties in the UK and all your furniture is on route, so the border people may have some questions re genuine visitors etc, sorry dont want to sound gloomy, but thought its an important point to make.

Are there any other options, alternative positions?, study route options???

I wish you lots of luck and really hope that things come through for you