Serious cause for refusing or leaving suitable employment or taking leave from such employment refers to special circumstances which, considering the adult’s personal situation, mean:
- that he or she could not act otherwise without harm or significant inconvenience to the adult or his or her family and that there was no reasonable way to solve the problem other than refusing or leaving the employment.
The list of circumstances given to determine whether the departure or refusal was the only reasonable alternative is not exhaustive.
Serious cause includes:
- obligation to accompany a spouse or dependent child to another residence. The length of the spouse’s absence, the custody situation (shared custody) and other possible solutions (such as daily commuting to work) must be taken into account;
- working conditions that constitute a danger to health or safety. Job and health-related constraints (such as temperature and air quality) must be taken into account. If necessary, a medical certificate listing these constraints must be provided. Solutions which may correct the situation within a reasonable amount of time must also be taken into account (for example, asking to be assigned to other duties);
- obligation to care for a child or a member of the immediate family (attendance at work suffers because of the number of days absent to take care of the sick individual). The age and health of the child or family member and other possible solutions (for example, asking a relative or friend to care for a relative who is not independent) must be taken into account;
- excessive overtime work or refusal to pay for overtime work (having to regularly do several hours above what is normally expected with this type of work or not being paid for these hours). The type of employment, the normal work schedule for this type of employment and the normal work week under the Act respecting labour standards must be taken into account;
- reasonable assurance of obtaining another employment in the immediate future. The employer must have made a formal commitment to hire the person in the immediate future, indicating the moment when the person would begin his or her new job. Having high hopes of finding a job in the short term is insufficient. However, the prospect of finding regular employment in the medium and long term, or the possibility of finding a job with higher remuneration or better working conditions than the one the recipient had must be taken into account (for example, a nurse who starts employment where she is on call);
- earnings insufficient in relation to the expenses entailed (full-day child care costs for two hours of work);
- inaccessibility of the workplace, particularly because of the distance or the lack of appropriate transportation. Other reasonable solutions need to be taken into account, bearing in mind the remuneration and the length of the employment (purchase of a used vehicle, moving, carpooling);
- having a temporarily or severely limited capacity for employment.