Expertise in Labour and Employment Related Issues
Watershed Law Professional Corporation takes a personal approach with each of our practice areas. By working with us, you can rest assured that we have the expertise to meet your needs and a billing philosophy that offers options including traditional hourly rates, fixed fees, day rates and retainers. We pride ourselves on providing our clients with the ability to budget and manage their costs accordingly, rather than being left with the uncertainty of having to plan for contingencies.
Day-to-Day Legal Services
We provide timely and practical human resources and labour relations support to management on a broader range of day-to-day issues – recognizing that many of the matters we are retained for are sensitive and require immediate attention. We are committed to partnering with our clients to ensure that they are provided with cost-effective and practical advice to assist in managing their day-to-day workplace issues.
In providing day-to-day advice to our clients, we view our role as one of identifying legally possible options rather than simply pointing out problems and risk.
Among other things we assist clients in the following areas:
Hiring
We assist our clients through the entire hiring process, from recruitment to drafting the employment agreement and developing other hiring documentation.
Termination
Get the advice you need with respect to individual and group terminations. We support with the documentation required for these difficult business decisions to ensure our clients’ interests are protected, while navigating the legal challenges and litigation risks.
Ongoing Employment Relationship
We’re prepared to support you with legal advice on employment standards, altering or modifying policies, practices and conditions of employment, progressive discipline, attendance and absenteeism management, and accommodation under the Human Rights Code. For our unionized clients, we also provide advice and support on a full range of collective agreement administration issues from interpretation to discipline and discharge, to managing the relationship with the union.
Workplace Restructuring and Reorganization
Our experience as counsel or as the lead in-house human resources practitioner in workplace restructuring initiatives (small or large, union or non-union) is extensive. Through this service offering, we share our specialized knowledge and experience dealing with the implementation of these complex matters. We realize change in the workplace raises a host of business and employee concerns and are focused on solutions that help you minimize disruption and cost.
Collective Bargaining
In unionized workplaces, the collective agreement sets out the terms and conditions of employment. Unlike any other negotiation, collective bargaining creates a unique workplace environment. There is an underlying tension between developing work rules that support the business direction and competitive position while still fostering a long-term relationship with the employees and union officials. In any other negotiation, you can walk away and develop a new business relationship with other parties. In collective bargaining, the employer, the union and its members are bound to one another. At Watershed Law, we believe that thorough preparation and analysis, a sound understanding of both short-term and long-term business objectives, and proper management of the relationship at the bargaining table will allow our clients to meet their business objectives.
Workplace investigations
We have extensive experience working with clients, employers and other law firms to conduct workplace investigations into a host of alleged conduct violations. The policies we support with regularity include workplace harassment, violence, bullying, fraud and other conduct potentially giving rise to discipline or discharge.
Training and Development
We provide customized and interactive training that incorporates substantive legal content with practical exercises and plain language. Our training is highly interactive with hands-on and relevant exercises that encourage collaboration and group learning. We approach training in a highly practical and relevant way that meets the various needs of our clients. Because of this, we custom-design the training for your organization. We firmly believe that one of the greatest opportunities for business is to ensure that front-line supervisors and managers are well versed on identifying and managing complex workplace issues.