Bios » Robert K. Smithson

Robert’s legal practice is focused exclusively on the areas of labour law and employment law. Robert has a unique background as a labour and employment lawyer. He began as in-house union counsel and later moved on to represent management clients. Recently, he served as Director of Human Resources & Industrial Relations at Western Star Trucks in Kelowna. He has been a joint industry panelist resolving grievances for local businesses and is an active participant in the B.C. Human Resources Management Association. Robert is well-known around the interior of B.C. for his column, “Legal Ease”, dealing with labour and employment matters of interest to businesses and employees. Robert has extensive experience representing clients before B.C.’s Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, Employment Standards Branch, Labour Relations Board, Human Rights Tribunal, and Canada Industrial Relations Board, as well as in the arbitration setting.

Specific Practice Areas:

Employment and contractor agreements:
* determining whether the person is an employee or a contractor;
* drafting all required contractual documents;
* providing advice on appropriate severance arrangements;
* drafting and implementation of binding restrictive covenants;
* providing instructions for legally binding contract implementation; and
* conducting a periodic review of existing contractual documents and giving advice on altering existing contractual arrangements.

Wrongful dismissal litigation:
* determining whether just cause exists for summary dismissal;
* assessing the required notice period (or pay in lieu of notice);
* developing strategies for avoiding civil litigation;
* when necessary, representing your interests at all levels of court; and
* structuring settlement packages.

Labour relations and collective bargaining:
* union avoidance strategies;
* compliance with the B.C. Labour Relations Code and Canada Labour Code;
* appearing before the B.C. Labour Relations Board and Canada Industrial Relations Board;
* collective bargaining and collective agreement administration;
* grievance handling and representation at arbitration and mediation;
* advice on strikes, lockouts, and illegal work stoppages;
* strategies for terminating an existing union relationship.

Statutory compliance under the:
* B.C. Labour Relations Code and Canada Labour Code;
* B.C. Employment Standards Act;
* B.C. Human Rights Code and Canadian Human Rights Act;
* Employment Insurance Act, Income Tax Act, and Canada Pension Plan Act; and
* B.C. Personal Information Protection Act and Canada Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.

Human resources policy and practice development such as:
* hiring practices;
* control of overtime work;
* attendance and disability management;
* probation, discipline and discharge;
* mandatory retirement;
* severance formulas; and
* impairment in the workplace.

Employment audits including:
* analysis of employment contracts;
* calculation of severance liabilities;
* review of statutory compliance;
* assessment of enforceability of workplace policies.

General Areas of Practice:
* Litigation
* Labour & Employment Law
* Commercial Litigation
* Employment Law

Memberships:
* B.C. Human Resources Management Association (member and past Executive Committee member)
* Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the Okanagan (fundraiser and Employment Committee member)
* British Columbia Institute of Technology (guest lecturer)
* HRinfodesk.com (columnist)
* Kelowna Capital News (columnist)
* Member of B.C. Law Society
* Member of the Canadian Bar Association
* Okanagan Business Journal (columnist)
* Okanagan University College (guest lecturer)