Ontario Employee Who Quit Wasn’t Entitled to Bonus Payment

An employee who quit his job was not entitled to a bonus payout, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled, finding that the language of the bonus plan requiring "active employment" as a condition to receive a payout did not violate Ontario's Employment Standards Act (ESA).Section 11 of the ESA requires an employer to pay any wages owed to the employee within seven days of the last day of employment or on the employee's next scheduled payday, whichever is later. Section 13 prohibits employers from "withhold[ing] wages payable to an employee." The employee in the case worked for the company for approximately 14 years before resigning in 2011. Under the company's variable incentive plan (VIP), a bonus awarded for a given calendar year was payable in equal  installments over the following three years. Installment payouts would be made in February or March of each year. The employee resigned before the pay-out dates for the final installment of his 2009 bonus and two installments of his 2010 bonus.