In the Matter of the Employment Insurance Act,
S.C. 1996, c. 23
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In the Matter of a claim for unemployment benefits by
Karima Dossani
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In the Matter of an Appeal by the Claimant
from the decision of a Board of Referees given
at North York, Ontario on July 19, 1999
Appeal heard at Toronto, Ontario on April 10, 2000
DECISION
R. C. STEVENSON, UMPIRE:
Ms. Dossani appeals from the decision of a Board of Referees dismissing her appeal from a Commission ruling that she was disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits because she had voluntarily left her employment without just cause.
The record discloses an unfriendly and unhappy workplace environment. The Board of Referees found that Ms. Dossani had clearly had friction with her fellow employees and with her employer throughout her five years of employment there. It also found that she had alternatives to quitting, including seeking another job before quitting.
Paragraph 29(c) of the Employment Insurance Act provides that just cause for voluntarily leaving an employment exists if the claimant had no reasonable alternative to leaving, having regard to all the circumstances, including several enumerated circumstances one of which is antagonism with a supervisor if the claimant is not primarily responsible for the antagonism.
I equate what the Board called "friction" to what the Act calls "antagonism." When a Board of Referees finds antagonism with a supervisor it should determine whether the claimant was or was not primarily responsible for that antagonism before it makes a determination about reasonable alternatives having regard to all the circumstances. The Board of Referees erred in law when it proceeded to determine the latter issue without first determining whether the claimant was primarily responsible for the antagonism.
The appeal is allowed and the matter is referred back for re-hearing by a newly constituted Board of Referees. The decision of the first Board of Referees is to be removed from the record before it is submitted to the new Board. The new Board of Referees will not be restricted to the antagonism issue but will consider all relevant circumstances in making its decision.
RONALD C. STEVENSON
Umpire
FREDERICTON, NEW BRUNSWICK
June 1, 2000