HR Professional - October/November 2008 - (Page 38)

FEATURE Janice Rubin, of Rubin Thomlinson LLP, advises legal involvement at entry and exit stages of the employment relationship, like employment contracts, mass terminations, for-cause terminations and, as she puts it, “terminations with a twist.” Andrew Paterson, corporate counsel with The TDL Group Corp. (a.k.a. Tim Hortons), agrees: “Whenever an issue turns litigious, it is best for the HR professional to hand the matter over to the legal department.” It’s also good practice to seek legal advice when knowledge of rules of evidence may be important. “Sometimes when the legal news is not what your senior management team may want to hear, it may be more palatable coming from an outside source such as the lawyer,” says Erin Kuzz, of Sherrard Kuzz LLP. There are also times when “issues of privilege are important and the organization may want to have legal privilege attached to the issue.” Other times, it may be as simple as “when the hair on the back of your neck starts to stand up,” she says, including situations when you’re “dealing with disability issues or accommodation, as this area of law has changed so much in the past few years.” LEARNING FROM THE PAST Keith encourages HR professionals to look at past case histories. Determine what worked and assess what could have been done differently to strike the right balance. “If your model is to call a lawyer on every issue, you may want to consider in-house counsel or ways to become more knowledgeable in HR law,” he says. A junior HR person may call on a lawyer more frequently until they have established some level of comfort with the grey areas. However, knowing your own skill set and keeping current on legal updates will help build conﬁdence. RELATIONSHIPS MATTER Experience and knowledge in HR certainly help deal with many legal issues, but it’s not a substitute for legal training. Understanding the respective strengths and weaknesses of both HR and legal can actually contribute to the development of a good relationship. Erin Kuzz encourages teamwork between HR and legal counsel. “Through collaboration, our goal is to make HR look like a star by avoiding litigation, or by developing the best contracts,” she says. Now, that’s a role not too many HR people would turn down. Fun is Good for Business. Happy employees are productive employees. Show your appreciation with the gift of entertainment; it is a popular and affordable incentive. Whether it’s with individual rewards of corporate certiﬁcates or gift cards, you’ll treat your team like stars. Private movie screenings twinned with our wide variety of concession offerings also help recognize the efforts of your employees. It’s a nice, fun way to say thank you for a job well done. Cineplex Entertainment theatres are also ideal for business meetings and events. Put your ideas up on the big screen and put some power in your presentation. Contact us today! 1-800-313-4461 corporatesales @ cineplex.com ® Cineplex Entertainment LP or used under license. cineplex.com/corporatesales Tracey Starrett, M.Ed., CHRP, is an HR consultant and teacher at York University. HR P R OF E S S I ON A L 391333_Cineplex.indd 1 38 O c t o b e r / N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 8 7/16/08 7:08:36 PM http://www.cineplex.com/corporatesales

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of HR Professional - October/November 2008

HR Professional - October/November 2008 Contents Editor's Letter Contributors Leadership Matters Upfront Legal Compensation Human Capital Talent Management Murphy’s Law Wise Counsel On Message HR 101 Interview with Joseph McCool Off the Shelf The Last Word

HR Professional - October/November 2008

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