CUB 70993

LOUIS S. TANNENBAUM, Umpire

This appeal, heard at Vancouver on July 22, 2008, deals with sections 29 and 30 of the Employment Insurance Act (the Act), whether or not the claimant voluntarily left her employment without just cause.

A decision of the Board of Referees allowed the claimant's appeal from a decision of the Commission which claimed she did not have just cause and the present appeal to the Umpire from the Board's decision has been lodged by the employer.

The claimant worked for a dental clinic and contended that she was dismissed (constructively) since shifts were taken away from her and given to a new employee, while the employer offered her shifts they knew she could not work due to other commitments.

The employer claimed that in a telephone conversation with another employee of the clinic, the claimant told this individual that she quit, and this was the employer's position.

In its findings of fact, the Board of Referees held:

"From the information from the docket and the oral hearing, the Board finds that the claimant did not voluntarily quit her employment. She was constructively dismissed for reasons which were not disclosed at the hearing. It is a fact that her shifts were given away without prior discussion with her. She covered the one day she would not work, namely January 13, 2007, and there was no other work for her. We believe that she never received a phone call from someone and therefore would not have said she had quit. The employer represented by the accountant gave hearsay testimony to which this Board does not give the same weight as the direct testimony from the claimant. The Board found the claimant credible in her explanations and the new information tabled prior to the hearing corroborates her version of events.

DECISION:

On the issue of voluntary leaving is allowed."

At the hearing, counsel for the Commission advised the undersigned that it now supports the Board's decision.

After reviewing all of the material in the file, I find that the Board's findings of fact are completely reasonable and based upon the evidence presented to it. The Board committed no errors either of fact or law, and respected all principles of natural justice. One must remember that the Board of Referees is the master of the facts and is in the best position to decide upon the credibility of the evidence and witnesses. Accordingly, its decision in this respect should not be interfered with unless there are compelling reasons to do so. I find no such reasons in the present instance.

For the above reasons, the employer's appeal is dismissed.

Louis S. Tannenbaum

UMPIRE

OTTAWA, Ontario
August 15, 2008