Master and Servant — Ontario Employment Law

If you are researching Ontario employment law or reading court documents, you might stumble across the phrase "master and servant." While it sounds incredibly archaic and out of place in a modern workplace, it is the foundational common law term for the employer-employee relationship. Before statutes like the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) or the Ontario Human Rights Code were drafted, the rights and obligations of workers were governed entirely by the common law of master and servant.

Today, Ontario courts and lawyers still occasionally rely on master and servant case law, particularly when dealing with the implied duties built into every employment contract. Under these historical principles, a "servant" (employee) owes an inherent duty of loyalty, fidelity, and good faith to their "master" (employer). This means that even if you never signed a formal contract with a non-compete or confidentiality clause, the common law dictates that you cannot steal your employer's trade secrets, actively sabotage their business, or secretly compete with them while still on their payroll.

Conversely, the master and servant framework also established early rules outlining when an employer has the right to dismiss a worker for serious misconduct, such as dishonesty or theft, which breaches the core trust of the relationship. Modern courts still look back to these foundational cases when deciding whether an employee's actions justify termination for cause, or whether an injunction should be granted to stop a former worker from breaching a restrictive covenant or fiduciary duty.

While the terminology has largely evolved into "employer and employee," understanding your status under these common law rules is critical if you are accused of breaching a duty to your workplace. Because early English and Canadian common law established such deeply entrenched obligations, navigating allegations of disloyalty or contractual breaches can be legally hazardous. Your specific duties depend heavily on the unique facts of your role, making it essential to have a qualified Ontario legal professional review your situation rather than trying to interpret centuries-old legal principles on your own.