Alienation of an enterprise (Quebec labour standards)

A buyer of a Quebec business with employees meets this wording in two statutes. Quebec’s Act respecting labour standards and its Labour Code both speak of the “alienation” of an undertaking, in whole or in part, and say what that event does not do to the employees’ position.

What the statutes say

• Act respecting labour standards, s.96: an alienation or concession of the whole or a part of an undertaking does not invalidate any civil claim under the Act or a regulation that is unpaid at the time, and the former employer and the new employer are bound solidarily for that claim.
• Same Act, s.97: an alienation or concession in whole or in part, or a change in the undertaking’s juridical structure such as amalgamation or division, does not affect the continuity of the application of the labour standards.
• Labour Code, s.45: an alienation or operation by another of an undertaking, in whole or in part, does not invalidate a certification, a collective agreement or a proceeding for the securing of certification or for the making or carrying out of a collective agreement; where only part of the operation of an undertaking is transferred, the third paragraph of s.45 and s.45.2 set exceptions.

What to check

The CNESST says an employer must report a change such as a sale, merger or acquisition of a business to it. Ask what employee claims are unpaid at closing, whether a certification or collective agreement covers the staff, and what has been reported to the CNESST. This entry covers Quebec only.