Keswick resident Adam Squires saw a golden opportunity when he applied to work at the new Loblaw distribution centre coming to East Gwillimbury.
The massive new facility on Newmarket's border has been hiring in recent months. Although the 44-year-old Squires said he had a good job in auto manufacturing, he said the potential of getting a union job with a pension at Loblaw appealed to him.
The interview went well, according to Squires, and he received a verbal job offer. He said he was told an email would come with all the paperwork. But it never came. A supposed Nov. 18 start date passed, and Squires found himself without a new job — and unemployed after leaving his then employer.
“All I wanted was a job. That’s it,” Squires said. “I just lost a lot for my future, for my retirement, who knows.”
The company has been on a hiring blitz in East Gwillimbury and the surrounding area as its logistics and distribution centre readies to open, with about 1,000 jobs needing to be filled.
Like many, Squires went to an employment fair to pursue the job. As an experienced warehouse worker who has done everything from forklift driving to welding, he said things went smoothly and he was able to land an interview.
Squires said he was overjoyed on receiving what he believed was a verbal offer of a job.
“I was so excited. I was literally the happiest I’ve been in 20 years or more for a job,” he said, adding he told his wife, "This is life-changing for us.’”
Those words would prove true in an unfortunate way. Squires said he was assured that an email would come with a written contract and not to worry if it was delayed a bit. He gave his then employer the required two weeks of notice so he could start the new job on Nov. 18.
Then Squires said the man who interviewed him did not respond to any follow-up messages. With no email before Nov. 18, Squires said he went to the facility, hoping that he could sign the paperwork in person.
Squires said he walked into an orientation session but was not on the list for the start date.
Speaking with a human resources person, Squires said he was told his recruiter no longer worked with the company and he was not on any employee list. However, the HR person said they would be looking to hire more people in January.
“I might not have a house to live in January,” Squires said. “I left a lot of money on the table.”
A Loblaw spokesperson said it does not make verbal offers in its hiring practices, and there would be secondary interviews and a background check before hiring someone with a written contract. The company said there was no verbal offer in this case and the situation was due to a “misunderstanding.”
But the spokesperson said they are empathetic and have reached out to Job Skills and extended support to have him apply for another position in the network.
“This, I think, is obviously a terrible situation, and we’re completely empathetic to the challenges Mr. Squires is facing,” the spokesperson said.
Employment lawyer Lumi Pungea, a partner at Toronto-based Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, said that a verbal job offer can create employer liability. A written job offer is easier to establish a case, but she said a verbal offer will hinge on the evidence available regarding discussions between the employer and claimant.
A situation could make an employer liable for damages and could be pursued as a civil claim, Pungea said, for breach of contract or negligent misrepresentation. With damages from the claimant having left their old position, Pungea said a case like this could get between three to six months worth of wages rewarded.
These cases do happen, but most are settled out of court, Pungea said.
“It’s a very, very unfortunate situation for the individual,” she said. “It illustrates how employers and recruits and organizations have to be very careful and treat this kind of situation with a lot of responsibility and care to avoid the unfortunate situation that we’re dealing with.”
Squires confirmed he has now had another interview with the company and is waiting to hear more. He said he considered legal remedy but found it unlikely to be worthwhile due to legal fees.
Ultimately, Squires said he just wants to get a job, as he thought he had. As the breadwinner for his family, he said they are in a dire spot.
“I have no financial position … my life has literally turned upside down,” he said. “There’s no light there anymore at the end of the tunnel.”
