Punitive Damages

Punitive damages will only be awarded in "rare" and "extreme" cases, in respect of conduct which is of such a nature that the court determines it is deserving of additional punishment because of its harsh, vindictive, reprehensible and malicious nature.
There are very few cases in which punitive damages have been awarded by the courts with respect to the termination of an individual's employment. In those cases in which punitive damages have been awarded in a wrongful dismissal action, there has usually been very shocking conduct by the employer that was completely unjustified and designed to intimidate the employee.

For example, where an employee was accused of:

• falsifying company records,
• taking cocaine in his office,
• being part of a fraudulent passport distribution scheme

and other extraordinary allegations, all of which were untrue, a court awarded punitive damages to the employee.

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