Employee's outburst likely referred to impending vacation; employer didn't verify before sending out record of employment
An employee for a British Columbia company did not resign when he said, “I’m out of here” and handed over his computer and keys, the B.C. Supreme Court has ruled.
Rashid Balogun, 49, was hired by accounting firm Deloitte & Touche to be a tax manager at its Prince George, B.C., office in October 2005. Though Balogun was licensed as a certified public account in the United States, he did not have the equivalent licence in Canada. Because of this, Deloitte & Touche didn’t consider Balogun to be fully qualified to be a tax manager, but it expected he would grow into the position. It was agreed that Balogun would take a two-year tax course, at Deloitte & Touche’s expense, while he worked. The course began in the fall of 2006, as Balogun was hired too late to start the course in 2005.
After six months, Deloitte & Touche conducted a standard performance review, which was designed to determine what kind of adjustment, if any, should be made to Balogun’s salary. The firm felt Balogun’s performance needed improvement and did not warrant a raise. Balogun was told he had not met expectations and any raise would be based on performance, not simply for being with the firm for six months. Balogun was told if he improved his performance, his salary might be reviewed in another six months. Balogun felt this was a negotiating tactic and hoped to convince management at another meeting that he deserved a raise.
The meeting was held on June 16, 2006, just before Balogun left for a two-week vacation. Balogun felt the firm hadn’t been handling its U.S. tax issues properly and he felt nobody else at the office was capable of dealing with U.S. tax matters as he was the only one with a U.S. accounting licence. As a result, he said no one in the office was capable of evaluating his work.
Management asked Balogun what that meant for the future and Balogun replied, “I’m out of here.” They thought Balogun meant he was resigning and asked office security to retrieve Balogun’s laptop computer and office keys. Balogun handed them over, thinking his laptop was scheduled for replacement and the keys would be needed while he was on vacation. He then left for vacation before management could get a letter of resignation.
When Balogun returned from vacation, he found a record of employment (ROE) posted to his door, stating he had quit. After an initial rejection for employment insurance benefits, he appealed and was approved.
Two years later, Balogun discovered Deloitte & Touche had sent a second ROE to Service Canada stating he had been fired. He filed a wrongful dismissal lawsuit. Deloitte & Touche maintained he had resigned when he walked out and handed over his computer and keys.
The court found Balogun did make a statement that he was “out of here” and left, but given the fact he was starting a vacation, the statement was ambiguous and not a clear statement he intended to resign. Though he should have thought more about the implications of his actions and the request for his computer and keys, his emotional state at the time and his desire to leave for vacation clouded his judgment, said the court.
The court also found management was aware of the ambiguity because they wanted to request a letter of resignation but were unable to before Balogun left and didn’t follow up. Without that “normal practice,” there was no confirmation of resignation.
Deloitte & Touche was ordered to pay Balogun $13,184.29, equal to two months’ notice plus unpaid overtime. See Balogun v. Deloitte & Touche LLP, 2011 CarswellBC 2705 (B.C. S.C.).
