Employment contracts are often fought over a few words that seem ordinary until a termination occurs. Phrases such as at any time and for any reason have produced extensive Ontario litigation because provincial employment standards law prohibits dismissal in some circumstances, including reprisals for protected activity. Does a contract become unenforceable merely because it uses those phrases?
The Ontario Court of Appeal addressed the question in Baker v. Van Dolder's Home Team Inc., 2026 ONCA 568, together with Li v. Wayfair Canada ULC. Frederick Baker was dismissed from a controller role after a little over two years. His agreement limited him to the minimum notice and other entitlements required by the Employment Standards Act, 2000. He argued that the words at any time, and a clause addressing dismissal for cause, made the whole termination arrangement unlawful.
The Court of Appeal held that the contract must be read as a whole and in its proper context. The objective intention was compliance with the statute, not permission to dismiss employees for legally prohibited reasons. The cause provision likewise expressly preserved statutory minimum entitlements where required. The Court allowed Van Dolder's appeal and dismissed Baker's wrongful dismissal action. It also dismissed the appeal in the companion Wayfair matter.
That isn't a ruling that anything goes in termination drafting. A provision that genuinely offers less than required by the statute can still be unenforceable. But the court rejected an interpretive method that isolates words and imagines unlawful scenarios without considering the full agreement.
For employers, the practical value lies in keeping statutory commitments clear and consistent throughout contracts. For employees, the case shows why evaluating a termination clause requires the entire document, including language saving statutory rights, rather than a search for one potentially troublesome phrase.
Source: Ontario Court of Appeal, Baker v. Van Dolder's Home Team Inc., 2026 ONCA 568, https://www.minicounsel.ca/oca/2026/568