Former chief business officer entitled to damages for unpaid wages, vacation pay, and 8-month notice period
The Supreme Court of British Columbia has ruled in favour of a senior executive who alleged wrongful dismissal after being terminated from a Vancouver-based biotechnology startup, clarifying the legal standards for employment status and reasonable notice in the process.
Justice Linda Loo, in a decision dated Oct. 10, 2025, found that Attila Hajdu, former chief business officer of Triple Hair Group, was entitled to damages for unpaid wages, vacation pay, and an eight-month notice period after his employment was ended in May 2023.
The court rejected the employer’s argument that Hajdu was a contractor rather than an employee, emphasizing the dependent nature of his role and the company’s control over his work.
Employment relationship under scrutiny
Hajdu joined Triple Hair in February 2020 as vice-president of business development and, under a written agreement dated June 3, 2020, became chief business officer on a full-time basis.
In December 2022, Hajdu’s salary was reduced from $180,000 to $120,000 due to the company’s financial difficulties, with a promise to restore compensation after refinancing. Triple Hair later claimed Hajdu’s employment ended in December 2022 and that he was a contractor from January to May 2023, but the court found the June 2020 employment agreement remained in effect.
Justice Loo wrote, “In this case, most if not all of these factors point towards a dependent contractor relationship... Hajdu was clearly an employee or dependent contractor of the company and was therefore entitled to reasonable notice or damages in lieu thereof upon his termination.”
While Hajdu sought 12 months’ notice, the court awarded eight months, noting his seniority but distinguishing his role from top executives at larger organizations.
Notice period and mitigation
Justice Loo said the reason that CEOs and other C-suite executives are often entitled to longer notice periods is because of the greater responsibility attached to those jobs and the fact that there are few jobs to be found at the top of corporate hierarchies.
“In this case, the plaintiff did not have a role typical of top-level executives, and, in my view, he is not entitled to be treated like those executives for the purpose of determining his notice period.”
The court deducted income Hajdu earned as a realtor and Uber driver during the notice period, but found Triple Hair failed to prove he did not adequately seek comparable employment: “Triple Hair has not met its burden to show that Mr. Hajdu’s damages should be reduced because of a failure to mitigate."
Hajdu was also awarded accrued vacation pay for seven days, calculated at $4,846.
Damages for wrongful dismissal
The court ordered Triple Hair to pay Attila Hajdu the following amounts:
- $25,000 for amounts owing for the period between December 2022 and May 2023
- $72,886, being $120,000 in damages in lieu of reasonable notice less $47,113 for amounts mitigated
- $4,846 in accrued and unpaid vacation pay.
The court also included in its decision that the company must cover Hajdu’s legal costs, unless there was a settlement offer that changes this.
