Lisa needs to be considered an employee of CD Transport & Delivery Ltd because she has worked for the company for an extended period and should be awarded compensation for the termination from work. As an employer, CD Transport & Delivery Ltd is mandated to pay Lisa some fee for laying her down. The money paid would be used to help Lisa stabilize and transit after the disruption from work. It is also essential for Lisa to be acknowledged as an employee because employees enjoy retirement benefits which she could be headed to due to her age. As a result, she should ensure that the company identifies her as their employee and follows the correct procedure when laying her off.
Lisa may argue that she is an employee of the company because some reasons place her as an employee. First, she had a long term with the organization. A long-term relationship meant that Lisa was on good terms with the company. She had qualified to become a long-term member considering that no time limitation was given to her during the initiation of the contract. Therefore, Lisa could argue that the company retained her because she was their employee.
Another way Lisa could argue is by using common law that involves the behavioral control over employees by the management. When a company directs its members to place gadgets on their trucks to determine the distance covered, the workers do not have control over how the truck moves. If the distance covered by the car is overestimated, the company may refuse to pay the wages because they would be biased. Additionally, the company directs Lisa to work for it alone and with no other employer as part of the agreement. Such a condition indicates that the worker has no independence over their duties and is under the business organization’s control. The decision of whether Lisa is an employee or an independent contractor can be determined through a common law known as behavioral control that examines the relationship with the company.
CD Transport & Delivery Ltd agency can defend itself from Lisa’s claims by stating no employer-employee agreement between the parties. The company should provide evidence that the two parties had only agreed based on a typical contract. Moreover, as an independent contractor, Lisa worked for the company and did not enjoy any appraisal benefits from the company. Demanding inclusion as an employee after ten years would be unfair and lead to losses in the company.
Lisa did not also have an employee-employer relationship, and they had no retirement plans between them. The two parties did not also pay taxes together as is expected by common law in the organization. If Lisa sincerely knew that she was an employee all along, she should have requested the management to spare some of her salaries to pay taxes and health insurance as part of the company employees.
Another argument the company uses is that Lisa was paid based on her per-hour service and per-mile basis, meaning there was no employer-employee attachment between them. Lisa is privileged to decide when to bill her payments, unlike employees who wait for the management to decide on the day of payments. Lack of a binding agreement of an employer-employee relationship, failure of Lisa in getting involved in the roles of an employee, and decision on when to pick her payments are the grounds the company would use against Lisa’s arguments.
As the law requires, employers should ensure that their employees have prior notice about their intended laying off. Hourly paid employees and freelancers do not require notice for termination of their employment, whereas those paid on a day-to-day basis are informed during the closure of the job as they get paid. On the other hand, the management should alert monthly paid employees one month before the termination is at work. In case Lisa is an employee of CD Transport & Delivery Ltd., the human resource manager should inform her eight weeks before the onset of her dismissal as required by the Employment Standards Act. Within the period, Lisa will have prepared for the transition from the job to another job or retirement.
The organization should consider various principles and facts when deciding on the notice or the pay-in-lieu given to Lisa. These principles and facts required in the notice of termination and pay-in-lieu are; Lisa’s age, the years served, the wages paid to her, the necessity for having a reasonable cause of termination, the company’s procedure for termination, and termination notice, and the notice pay. An employee who spends more time working for a company results in higher pay-in-lieu at their time of dispatch. Similarly, if they are old and have no chances of getting employment in other companies, they receive higher pay-in-lieu. The number of wages payable also contributes to the amount paid as compensation.
The reasons leading to the contract’s termination are used to quote the amount of compensation. If the employee is being laid off due to integrity issues, the company is not liable for extra payments. Employers should also not sack their employees without consent.
CD Transport & Delivery Ltd should have avoided limiting Lisa from conducting other businesses with her truck. The company should have communicated with Lisa and informed her of the nature of their business and their relationship. All these would have facilitated a proper send-off for Lisa.