Law Commons^™

The Unpaid Employee As Creditor: Case Comment On Homeplan Realty, Debbie Zatzman

Dalhousie Law Journal

The unpaid employee is a common phenomenon in employment law, and one which poses difficult problems of determining the available rights and remedies. Take Jean, for example, who works full-time in an office for Bill. By virtue of her employment contract, Jean earns a fixed salary at an hourly rate. Moreover, provincial statutes entitle her to vacation pay and holiday pay. Bill falls one month in arrears in paying Jean's wages, because his business is financially unstable. This adds a new dimension to the employment relationship: Jean is not only an employee, but also a creditor of Bill for wages …