Employee wanted five-year guarantee but nothing was ever officially agreed to
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has struck down an employee’s claim his contract was guaranteed for five years after the employee was dismissed after eight months of work.
Razmig Tossonian worked as a salesperson at a jewelry store in Vancouver when he starting talking to the owner of a Toronto jewelry store in 2008. They negotiated a compensation package if Tossonian came to work at the jeweller’s new store, Symphony Diamonds, in Toronto, but Tossonian’s wife became pregnant and a move to Toronto wasn’t possible at that time.
Tossonian and the jeweller met again three years later in July 2011. They discussed the terms under which Tossonian would be employed, including what Tossonian described as a guarantee of at least a five-year term of employment. On July 15, the jeweller made an offer of employment to Tossonian, which Tossonian accepted.
A few days later, the jeweller sent Tossonian an email outlining the compensation package for the job. The email was missing the five-year guarantee, so Tossonian called the jeweller, who according to Tossonian said “That’s not a problem. I will guarantee you.”
Tossonian moved to Toronto and started working at Symphony Diamonds on Aug. 29. He received a written employment contract on Sept. 9 that didn’t include the guarantee, but Tossonian signed it. A month later, the jeweller gave Tossonian a statement of employment to help Tossonian secure a mortgage. This document said Tossonian had a “guaranteed five year position contract with Symphony Diamonds.”
The jeweller promised Tossonian they would draw up a formal contract, but he asked Tossonian to write it up as he wasn’t good at contracts. Tossonian wrote the contract based on their conversations in July, including a statement that the company guaranteed his position for a term of five years. Both signed the contract.
A little later, the jeweller received a telephone call related to Tossonian’s mortgage application, and Tossonian heard him say “yes, I’m stuck with him for five years and hopefully longer.”
Over the next few months, Tossonian told a co-worker he had been talking to a competing jeweller, who was planning to open a new store. He also mentioned to other employees about working elsewhere. When the co-worker said if the owner heard about it, he would be upset, Tossonian reportedly said he couldn’t be fired because he had a five-year contract.
As it turned out, the competitor had made a good job offer and Tossonian was thinking about what he should do. He
was also concerned about being instantly fired if he gave notice at Symphony Diamonds.
When Tossonian arrived at work on March 30, 2012, the owner took him to a nearby restaurant to talk. He told Tossonian that he had found out another employee had been looking for other employment so he fired her. He also said Tossonian had a right to look for another job but not to talk to other employees about it. The owner became angry and Tossonian said it was “just a conversation, it was nothing.” However, the owner swore at Tossonian and left.
Tossonian was shocked and eventually returned to the store. His co-worker denied saying anything to the owner and Tossonian went looking for him. The owner soon returned to the store and said it wasn’t acceptable and he couldn’t trust Tossonian anymore. Tossonian claimed he said it was “BS” and he was going back to work. However, the owner said he didn’t trust Tossonian in his store and nodded when Tossonian asked if he was letting him go. Some yelling ensued between them and the owner asked for Tossonian’s keys to the store. He then said “good luck to you” and departed.
The owner claimed that when he said in the restaurant he didn’t trust Tossonian anymore, Tossonian stood up, gave him his keys, and left. When Tossonian didn’t come back to work, he prepared the record of employment.
Tossonian received a record of employment that indicated he had quit, which delayed his receipt of employment insurance. He eventually was offered a job back at his old store in Vancouver, which he accepted.
Tossonian claimed he was dismissed and was owed the balance of his five-year guaranteed contract. Symphony Diamonds argued there was no guaranteed term.
The court found Tossonian downplayed his discussions with the competitor, when in fact he had a firm job offer. Though the owner was angry when he found out about it, the court noted “any employer who had done what (the owner) had done for Mr. Tossonian would feel disappointed. Within months of coming to Toronto to work for (Symphony Diamonds), (Tossonian) was ready to take a job with one of (its) competitors.”
The court found Tossonian was a little manipulative and took advantage of Symphony’s owner’s “flamboyant generosity and his lack of attention to detail.” The terms of Tossonian’s employment were that which were agreed upon on July 15, 2011, which had no mention of the five-year guarantee, said the court. Only the statement of employment and the later document mentioned such a term, and they were after the employment already started. Even if the owner agreed to a five-year term, there was no written agreement for such in place when Tossonian started work, said the court.
