An employer’s discretion is constrained when deciding whether to award discretionary bonuses, according to the Court of Appeal for Ontario.

When the Ontario Superior Court upheld a termination clause in a September 2021 judgment, it provided a rare opportunity for celebration among the province’s employers and management-side counsel. However, the Court of Appeal has now doubled down on its previously strict stance as it overturned the employer-friendly ruling and sided with the plaintiff in the case of Rahman v. Cannon Design Architecture Inc.