Time to Call in the Pros: When Do You Need an Employment Lawyer?

When Do You Need an Employment Lawyer?When it comes to employment law, there’s no shortage of information out there. From blogs to TikToks to YouTube videos, there’s a wealth of knowledge available at your fingertips. And let’s not forget about the government guides – they’re a great resource for staying up-to-date on the latest employment laws and regulations. While there’s a ton of information that can help employers navigate employment issues DIY, there are still situations where you really need an employment lawyer. 

Let’s be real – running a business can be a real headache sometimes, especially when you throw in all the legal mumbo jumbo. That’s where employment lawyers come in – we’re the legal experts who can help you navigate the murky waters of employment law and protect your business.

Read More

Softer Landings Save Time, Effort and Legal Fees for Employers and Employees

termination process and employee entitlementsMany HR professionals say the toughest part of their job is employee terminations. No surprise there, and it’s usually no day at the beach for the exiting employee either. Mapping out the termination process and employee entitlements in advance will reduce the sting of terminations for both sides. 

It Pays to be Nitpicky!

Another reason to have all ducks in a row: courts have awarded additional damages for aspects of the manner of dismissal that may seem a little nitpicky. A few examples: an employer’s failure to provide a written termination letter, late statutory payments, miscalculations in statutory amounts, and inaccurate ROEs. Courts have also called employers out for failing to explain an employee’s rights in a termination letter. All the more reason for employers to tighten up their termination process and termination letter template.

Read More

Show Me the Money: Legal Fees Explained

Legal Fees ExplainedSo you’ve decided that you’d like to hire an employment/labour law firm. What about legal fees? You’ve seen the ads on TV and online where lawyers promise not to take a cut of anything until you win. Other lawyers’ services seem to cost an arm and a leg. How do you navigate the world of legal fees? This can be tricky, so below we’ve outlined some of the most common fee structures for employment lawyers.

Hourly Rate

This is one of the most popular fee structures used by employment lawyers. The lawyer charges an hourly rate for their time, and the client pays for the actual time spent working on the case. Basically, the lawyer will track every minute (or even every six minutes, to be exact) they spend on your case, and they’ll charge you for that time. That means if they spend 18 minutes on the phone with you, they’re gonna bill you for 0.3 hours.

Read More

4 Common Mistakes to Avoid with Fixed-Term Contracts

4 Common Mistakes to Avoid with Fixed-Term ContractsFixed-term or temporary employment contracts can be a useful tool for short-term employment such as temporary replacements for employees on leave, co-op students or employees performing work funded by a time-limited grant. When drafted and executed correctly, employment ends at the end of the fixed-term contract and no further termination entitlements are owed. 

However, when fixed-term contracts are misused, they can become very risky for employers. Below are four mistakes for employers to avoid when hiring on a fixed-term contract.

Read More

SpringLaw is 6 years old!!

 

I launched SpringLaw on April 1, 2017, with the mission to be a fully virtual, tech-forward employment law firm in the cloud. Although this now feels like a thousand years ago, before a global pandemic introduced the world to the ease of online communications and business, our purpose remains to disrupt old-school law in order to provide an amazing client journey. 

We continue to solve workplace law issues through leading-edge, tech-forward collaboration with our virtual-only team, located throughout Ontario. We have built a web of internal communications, frequent team video & chat touchpoints, online-first systems and our data conveyor belt which are all focused on making the client journey as effective, efficient and practical as possible. 

Thank you to all of our amazing clients, our workplace law community, our allies and all the friends and family who have supported us along the way.

SpringLaw’s First 6 Years by the Numbers

  1. We’ve grown from 1 lawyer and an assistant to 9 lawyers, 2 paralegals, and 3 operational gurus. We continue to grow and have just posted for a new Marketing Manager.
  2. We’ve opened over 1300 client matters, serving a mix of employers and employees and the full range of workplace law issues.
  3. We’ve hosted 41 of our free monthly webinars, all posted on our YouTube channel.
  4. We’ve written over 300 weekly blog posts.
  5. We share those posts monthly with our 2500+ newsletter subscribers.
  6. Most importantly, between the 14 people on our team, we have 9 dogs, 1 cat, 2 guinea pigs and 1 rabbit. Critical law firm numbers, I know.
Read More
Back To Top