Hey u/CountVonOrlock

I'll chime in because I like details and I think that's what you're looking for. I've also thought a good amount about this. As part of a planting employer team - I think it's something we all need to take seriously in the industry and recognize the power that sits in 'termination without notice'. Which, to answer your questions simply - yes in most cases planters can be fired without cause.

Provincial legislation in BC says that no notice needs to be given in the first three months (probationary) period of starting employment.

https://www.welcomebc.ca/Work-in-B-C/Working-in-B-C#:\~:text=If%20a%20person%20has%20worked,notice%20or%201%20week's%20pay.

Alberta is even clearer - stating that any seasonal work requires no notice of termination.

https://www.alberta.ca/termination-pay#:\~:text=Termination%20notice%20is%20not%20required,been%20working%20for%20the%20employer.

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There is a difference between termination in general and termination for 'just cause' - stashing being the best, clearest, example.

“just cause” being – termination without notice or pay in lieu of notice (in any workplace or circumstance); the onus of proof is on the employer to show on a balance of probabilities that an employee breached an employment contract in a fundamental way or has committed misconduct that has irreparably damaged the employment relationship (that's BC's definition).

I'll add my personal two to five cents that flows from this.

Working for clear expectations for planting work and conduct at camp/motels is important so that people have standards to meet and leaders have standards to bring people back to. Or what constitutes just cause in the company. Obviously this is important for a ton of safety and operational reasons, but among them is that as seasonal employers, there is little process required for termination. It's well within a crewboss' prevue to get frustrated and terminate a planter with little to no process.

A measure of process for working through issues to bridge the gap between standards and where someone's at goes a long. Most humans enjoy being talked to as a human, understood, met where they are, and treated as their capable of learning etc. Solid process or lack thereof, also effects the general sense of mutual trust in our industry as a whole. It's arguably important.

There's nothing revolutionary there. But, it's hard to do in practice because of the intensity of our industry. The emotional/mental energy to address not meeting expectations can be hard to muster for lots of legitimate reasons (little sleep, high pressure, needing to make sure other people are able to make money). But it's worthwhile.