Performance Management and Progressive Discipline: Resonance HR Law Webinar, September 29, 2026
Managing employee performance is one of the most consequential responsibilities facing employers and HR professionals. Getting it wrong is costly. Getting it right requires knowing both the legal framework and the practical process. This workshop covers both.
Performance management and progressive discipline sit at the intersection of two things that are both true and often in tension: employers have the right to manage their workforces, and employees have legal protections that govern how that management can be exercised.
Most employers who end up in a costly wrongful dismissal claim, a human rights complaint, or an employment standards dispute did not set out to do anything wrong. They set expectations informally, addressed concerns inconsistently, documented poorly, and then found themselves in a termination they could not defend.
On September 29, 2026 at 12 PM Atlantic, Resonance HR Law is hosting a practical full-day workshop on exactly this: what sound performance management and progressive discipline look like in practice, where employers most commonly go wrong, and how to build a process that is defensible from the first difficult conversation through to termination.
About the webinar
Performance Management and Progressive Discipline: From Difficult Conversations to Termination
Date: Monday, September 29, 2026
Time: 12:00 PM Atlantic
Duration: 1.5 hours
Format: Online webinar
CPD Credit: Pre-approved for 1.5 CPHR NB CPD hours
Hosted by: Erin Arsenault and Meg Collins, Resonance HR Law
Registration: resonancehrlaw.ca/events
This session has been pre-approved for 1.5 Continuing Professional Development hours through CPHR NB. If you are working toward your CPHR designation or maintaining your current certification, this workshop counts directly toward your annual CPD requirement. Bring your questions — the session is designed to be practical and interactive, not a lecture.
Why this topic matters right now
The legal threshold for just cause termination in Canada is very high, and the burden of proof rests entirely on the employer. Most situations that employers believe constitute cause do not meet the legal test. Most of the employers who fall short are not those who acted in bad faith. They are those who did not build the process that the law expects before the termination decision arrived.
An employer who terminates for cause without a documented progressive discipline record is typically in a significantly weaker position than one who can show a clear progression from first concern through final warning. The documentation an employer builds — or fails to build — during the performance management process is often the single most important factor in determining whether a termination decision holds up.
For Atlantic Canada employers navigating the intersection of progressive discipline, accommodation obligations, and the updated employment standards landscape in 2026, this workshop provides the framework and practical tools to handle performance and conduct issues with greater legal and organizational confidence.
What the session covers
Setting and communicating clear expectations
Performance management starts before a performance problem exists. Employers who have clearly communicated what is expected — in writing, at the outset of employment, and reinforced through regular feedback — are in a fundamentally stronger position than those who address expectations only when something goes wrong.
The workshop examines how to establish performance and behavioural expectations that are specific, documented, and communicated in a way that employees can actually act on.
Addressing performance concerns early
The instinct to wait and see whether a performance concern resolves on its own is one of the most common and costly mistakes in performance management. Early, direct, and documented intervention gives the employee a genuine opportunity to improve and gives the employer a record of having done so. Both of those things matter.
Participants will learn how to address performance concerns at the earliest opportunity, how to frame those conversations constructively, and how to document them in a way that becomes the foundation of a defensible process if the situation escalates.
Coaching, feedback, and performance improvement plans
Coaching and feedback are not just good management practice. They are part of the legal record. A performance improvement plan that is specific, time-bound, and documented — and that gives the employee a genuine opportunity to meet the standard — is a different legal document than a vague directive that the employee "do better."
The session will examine what effective coaching looks like, when a performance improvement plan is appropriate, and how to design one that is both useful for the employee and defensible for the employer.
Documentation: the factor that decides most cases
Ask any employment lawyer what single factor most often determines whether a cause termination succeeds or fails, and the answer is almost always documentation. Not the seriousness of the misconduct. Not the length of the disciplinary process. Documentation.
Effective documentation is specific, not general. "Performance has been declining" is not useful documentation. "On September 15, 2026, the employee submitted the Q3 report three days late without prior communication, resulting in a missed client presentation" is useful documentation. The workshop addresses what effective documentation looks like at each stage of the process, how to create a contemporaneous record, and why the notes made at the time of an incident carry significantly more weight than reconstructed summaries written months later.
Understanding and applying progressive discipline
Progressive discipline is a structured, step-by-step approach to addressing employee misconduct or performance concerns through escalating interventions. The concept is that where an employee repeatedly fails to meet expectations, the disciplinary response will begin with corrective action and move through increasingly serious steps, eventually permitting termination for cause if there is no improvement.
Progressive discipline is not legally mandatory in Canada before every termination. But courts expect it. A termination for cause without documented corrective steps is extremely vulnerable to a wrongful dismissal claim, regardless of how genuinely frustrated the employer was with the employee's conduct.
The workshop examines the progressive discipline framework, how to apply it appropriately, and — critically — when it can legitimately be bypassed.
The distinction between poor performance and serious misconduct
This distinction is one of the most important and most misunderstood in employment law. Poor performance and serious misconduct are not the same thing, and the legal response to each is different.
Poor performance is typically addressed through coaching, documentation, performance improvement plans, and graduated discipline over time. Serious misconduct — theft, fraud, harassment, workplace violence — can in appropriate circumstances justify immediate termination without prior warnings.
The threshold for serious misconduct that justifies summary dismissal is high. Just cause is the "capital punishment of employment law" because it allows an employer to terminate employment immediately, without any severance pay or notice period, and often impacts an employee's ability to claim Employment Insurance benefits. Because the consequences for the employee are so severe, the legal threshold for establishing just cause is very high.
The session will examine how to distinguish between the two categories and what each requires from the employer's process.
Human rights, accommodation, and the discipline process
One of the most common and most costly errors in performance management is applying discipline to conduct or performance issues that are connected to a protected ground under human rights legislation without first conducting the accommodation inquiry the law requires.
A progressive performance management approach that takes into account accommodation needs, and is consistently applied and documented, is best practice and is legally required. The session will address how to identify when a performance concern may have a human rights dimension, what the employer's obligation is when that question arises, and how to manage the intersection of discipline and accommodation obligations.
Procedural fairness, consistency, and proportionality
A discipline process that is applied differently depending on the manager, the employee's seniority, or the employee's relationship with leadership is not a defensible one. Procedural fairness, consistency across comparable situations, and proportionality of response to the conduct at issue are all factors that courts and tribunals examine when an employment decision is challenged.
The workshop addresses what procedural fairness requires at each stage of the discipline process, how to apply discipline consistently across the organization, and how to calibrate responses proportionately to the conduct without overreaching.
Understanding the high threshold for just cause
Termination for cause should be considered an absolute last resort. It is challenging to prove terminations are justified and courts only do so in the clearest of circumstances. Most situations that employers believe constitute cause do not meet the legal test.
Even serious allegations may fall short if the employer failed to properly investigate, relied on outdated incidents, or skipped progressive discipline. A 15-month gap between the final and previous incidents of misconduct, during which the employee's behaviour had improved, was enough in a 2025 case for a tribunal to find that just cause had not been established.
The session will examine what just cause actually requires, how courts assess it, and what employers need to demonstrate to meet the threshold.
Recognizing when further performance management is unlikely to succeed
There is a point in some employment relationships where continued performance management or progressive discipline is not likely to produce a different outcome. Identifying that point — and responding to it in a way that is legally sound — requires both judgment and process.
The workshop will address how to assess when the performance management process has run its course, what options are available to the employer at that point, and how to make a termination decision that is appropriate to the circumstances.
Managing termination decisions
Whether a termination is with or without cause, the decision must be managed carefully. Without cause termination allows employers to end the employment relationship for any lawful reason as long as proper notice or pay in lieu is provided. This route may carry less legal risk, especially if the notice provided meets or exceeds the employee's statutory and contractual entitlements, though it may require higher upfront costs in the form of a termination package.
The session will examine how to assess which approach is appropriate, how to calculate and confirm applicable notice obligations, how to manage the termination meeting itself, and how to reduce legal and organizational risk in the period that follows.
Who should attend
This workshop is designed for HR professionals, people leaders, managers, and business owners who are responsible for managing employee performance and conduct, and who want to do so with greater confidence and legal defensibility.
You do not need a legal background to benefit from this session. The workshop is built for practitioners who need to apply these principles in real workplaces, not for lawyers. The legal framework is explained in plain language, and every topic is grounded in practical guidance that participants can use immediately.
If you have ever felt uncertain about whether a discipline decision was the right one, wondered whether your documentation would hold up if challenged, or found yourself at a termination decision without a clear record of how you got there, this session is designed for you.
About Erin Arsenault and Meg Collins
Erin Arsenault is a partner at Resonance HR Law with extensive experience advising employers across Atlantic Canada on performance management, progressive discipline, termination, and workplace investigations. Erin works with HR teams and people leaders to build practical, legally sound processes for managing the employment relationship from hire to separation.
Meg Collins brings deep expertise in HR law and workplace consulting, with a focus on the practical application of employment law principles in real organizational settings. Meg has facilitated training for HR professionals and managers across Atlantic Canada on performance management, accommodation, and the legal dimensions of day-to-day HR practice.
Together, they bring both the legal framework and the operational perspective to a topic that sits squarely at the intersection of both.
Frequently asked questions: performance management and progressive discipline webinar
When is the Resonance HR Law performance management webinar?
The webinar takes place on Monday, September 29, 2026, at 12:00 PM Atlantic. The session is hosted online by Erin Arsenault and Meg Collins of Resonance HR Law.
Who is the webinar designed for?
The session is designed for HR professionals, people leaders, managers, and business owners who manage employee performance and conduct. No legal background is required. The workshop provides practical guidance for practitioners working in real Atlantic Canada workplaces.
What is the difference between poor performance and serious misconduct in Canadian employment law?
Poor performance is typically addressed through coaching, documentation, and graduated discipline over time, giving the employee a genuine opportunity to improve. Serious misconduct — such as theft, fraud, harassment, or workplace violence — can in appropriate circumstances justify immediate termination without prior warnings. The threshold for summary dismissal is high and the burden of proof rests on the employer. This distinction is one of the core topics covered in the September 29 session.
Is progressive discipline legally required in Atlantic Canada before termination?
Progressive discipline is not prescribed by statute in most Atlantic Canadian jurisdictions, but courts and tribunals expect it in cases involving ongoing performance issues or repeated misconduct. A termination for cause without a documented progressive discipline record is significantly more vulnerable to a wrongful dismissal claim. The webinar addresses when progressive discipline is required, when it can legitimately be bypassed, and how to build a process that holds up.
What is the legal threshold for just cause termination in Canada?
Just cause is a high legal threshold. The employer carries the entire burden of proof. The employee's conduct must be so serious that it fundamentally breaks the employment relationship and makes continued employment impossible. Most situations that employers believe constitute just cause do not meet the legal test. Even serious allegations may fail if the employer did not properly investigate, relied on outdated incidents, or did not follow progressive discipline where it was expected. The webinar examines what just cause requires and how to build the record needed to meet the threshold.
How does accommodation affect the progressive discipline process?
If a performance or conduct concern may be connected to a disability, family status, or other protected ground under human rights legislation, the employer has a duty to inquire and accommodate before applying discipline or termination. Applying progressive discipline to conduct that is connected to a protected ground without first conducting the required accommodation inquiry is a common and costly error. The September 29 session addresses how to identify when a performance concern may have a human rights dimension and what the employer's obligations are.
How do I register for the webinar?
Registration is available at resonancehrlaw.ca/events. The session is hosted online and open to HR professionals, managers, and employers across Atlantic Canada.
Does the September 29 webinar qualify for CPHR NB CPD credit?
Yes. The session has been pre-approved for 1.5 Continuing Professional Development hours through CPHR NB. Attendees working toward or maintaining their Chartered Professional in Human Resources designation in New Brunswick can apply this session to their annual CPD requirement.
Ready to register?
Join Erin Arsenault and Meg Collins on September 29, 2026, at 12:00 PM Atlantic for a practical, legally grounded workshop on performance management and progressive discipline. From the first difficult conversation to the termination decision, this session gives you the framework and the tools to manage with confidence.
Not ready to register but want to learn more about how Resonance HR Law supports employers with performance management, discipline, and termination?
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Employment law is jurisdiction-specific and changes frequently. Contact Resonance HR Law for advice tailored to your circumstances.