Extra shift was added to job during employee's leave
An Ontario worker who refused to start working Saturdays when she came back from parental leave was forced to quit, the Ontario Labour Relations Board has ruled.
Sasha de Moel was an administrative assistant to the owner of Niagara Granite & Marble, a seller and installer of marble and granite countertops based in St. Catherines, Ont. Hired in August 2008, she worked full days from Monday to Friday.
Seven months after she started working for Niagara Granite — on March 14, 2009 — de Moel went on maternity leave with an expected return date one year later. While she was on leave, business improved on the weekends, leading Niagara Granite to increase its hours on Saturdays.
On Jan. 7, 2010, de Moel called the company to arrange for her return to work when her leave was up. However, the employee who was serving as her replacement told her when she came back she would have to work Saturdays. The next day, de Moel got hold of the owner and advised him she wanted to return to work on Feb. 1 but was unable to work Saturdays because she didn’t have child care for that day of the week. The owner replied that if she couldn’t work Saturdays he would have to “let her go.”
De Moel advised the owner she was entitled to return to the position she held before going on leave or a comparable position. The owner said it was his business and if she refused to work Saturdays he would lay her off one week after coming back. He then outlined her conditions of employment in writing for when she returned, which included working Mondays to Saturdays. The letter also said if she required a second day off in any week it would be discussed.
De Moel suggested hiring a student for Saturdays so she wouldn’t have to work six days a week, but Niagara Granite replied she could take a second day off if pre-arranged.
On March 1, 2010, de Moel submitted her letter of resignation, stating she was quitting because of the change in her hours.
The board found the owner threatened de Moel with termination if she didn’t work Saturdays and this caused her resignation. This was a reprisal for her insistence she be returned to the same position she held before going on leave, said the board.
