The History of the Layoff

Here’s a curious little story run in the Star today about the history of the layoff, a charming (and sadly very relevant) topic today.
My employment law students are usually surprised to learn that layoffs are a breach of the employment contract since most non-union employment contracts do not include a term permitting the employer to layoff an employee.  Because an implied term of the contract is that employers will permit the employee to come to work and perform their job, a layoff (or a suspension without pay) will be a breach of the contract. 
When the layoff is permanent, it is just a dismissal.  If it is a ‘temporary’ layoff, the employee can accept it and hope to be recalled, or can treat the layoff as a constructive dismissal and sue the employee. In either case, the employee would be entitled to ‘reasonable notice’.  Employment standards legislation includes a rather complex system for defining when statutory notice is payable in the case of a ‘temporary layoff’.  Layoffs are usually legal in unionized workplaces because employers bargain a right to layoff term into the collective agreement.