Labour & Employment

Stewart McKelvey has Atlantic Canada’s largest Labour & Employment Group, with nationally recognized practitioners in each province. We are strategic advisors who provide practical, business-focused guidance on complex workplace issues. Our clients include unionized and non-unionized employers operating across the private and public sectors, from regional organizations to national and international businesses. We understand that workplace matters are often urgent and are available when our clients need us most.

Employment

We advise employers on the full range of workplace issues arising throughout the employment relationship. From day-to-day workplace management to strategic organizational change and dispute resolution, our team helps clients navigate an increasingly complex regulatory environment.

Our experience includes:

• Employment, Contractor & Consultant Contracts
• Executive Compensation
• Workplace Policies & Procedures
• Business Restructurings
• Purchase & Sale of Businesses
• Employment Standards
• Workplace Investigations
• Terminations (and avoiding constructive dismissals)
• Litigation – Terminations, Restrictive Covenants etc.
• Employment Equity & Pay Equity

Labour Relations

We represent many of Atlantic Canada’s leading employers, including organizations governed by the Canada Labour Code. Our lawyers provide strategic advice and advocacy on complex labour relations matters, helping clients manage risk while maintaining productive workplace relationships.

Our experience includes:

• Collective Agreement Interpretation and Administration
• Collective Bargaining
• Grievance and Interest Arbitrations
• Strikes & Lockouts
• Jurisdictional Disputes
• Labour Board proceedings including Certification, Decertification, Common Employer and Successor Rights

Workplace Investigations & Compliance

We conduct sensitive, high-stakes workplace investigations that require both legal precision and a deep understanding of organizational dynamics. Our approach is discreet, impartial, and context-driven, designed to support fair, defensible outcomes in complex and often high-profile matters across both the private and public sectors, including federally and provincially regulated organizations.

We also advise employers on a broad range of workplace compliance and risk-management matters, including human rights and accommodation obligations, occupational health and safety requirements, pensions and benefits administration, immigration, workplace privacy, accessibility, governance, and regulatory matters.

As a full service law firm, we are able to draw on the breadth of our expertise across practice areas to support clients with integrated solutions to complex workplace challenges, including regulatory, litigation, and reputational considerations.