Dismissed: Quebec patient attendant, caught sleeping on the job, loses her case

A Quebec patient care attendant who was fired after being caught sleeping on the job by her boss – has lost her case.

She challenged her dismissal, but the Labour Relations Board ruled in favour of the private nursing home that employed her.

The attendant worked alone at night in this residence, which houses 22 independent or semi-independent residents.

The Tribunal reports that, starting in the winter of 2023, the residence had received complaints from residents or their families that “there is often no one at the attendant’s office at night to respond to needs.”

The manager checked with the complainant, who replied that she must simply be busy elsewhere in the residence.

As the manager had recently purchased the residence, he checked with the previous owners, who told him that there were rumors that the attendant in question “often sleeps during her shift.”

The manager therefore went to the residence several nights in a row to check on the attendant’s behavior.

The Tribunal summarizes the employer’s testimony: “In short, around midnight, the complainant turns off the lights in her office and settles down to sleep in the living room located in the basement of the building. He does not wake her up because he wants to see if her behavior is recurring. Instead, he made his rounds of the residents’ rooms at 1 a.m., 2 a.m., and 3 a.m.”

“At 4:10 a.m., he hears an alarm on the complainant’s phone. She wakes up, goes upstairs, and heads to her office. She repeats the same routine every night. On the morning of June 28, he asks her to leave the premises and informs her that she is suspended,” recounts administrative judge France Legault.

The employer told the Tribunal that he had taken photos but could not submit them as evidence because his camera had broken. However, the former owner, to whom he had shown the photos, testified in a letter that he had seen them.

The attendant admitted to falling asleep one night, but maintained that it was an isolated incident due to dizziness.

Her employer ultimately fired her. She contested the dismissal, but the Tribunal has just dismissed her complaint.

“By choosing to sleep for several hours instead of making the required rounds and providing the minimum level of supervision, she failed to fulfill the essential duties of her position. This action exposes residents to real and serious risks. As case law emphasizes, residents and their loved ones must be confident that staff are attentive and present at all times to respond to their needs,” the Tribunal wrote.

“Case law recognizes that falling asleep on the job when vigilance is essential to the supervision and safety of vulnerable clients constitutes exceptionally serious misconduct.

“The misconduct committed by the complainant is so serious that it justifies disregarding the principle of graduated sanctions,” concluded the administrative judge.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews