posting this on behalf of a friend who does not use reddit, but i figured the folks here might know how best to handle it.
my friend has been working for a company (mobile phone retail) for over a year. due to an injury, she tried to go on EI back in october, but the company refused to provide her Record of Employment to her or the government, without her returning to work. due to ongoing symptoms of her injury (chronic and sudden fainting) it's not safe for her to work alone, but they kept insisting she be scheduled solo shifts, so she refused to return. now, they have apparently called her and told her that if she won't return to work in the next two weeks, that she will have to write them a letter of resignation and quit.
i know what exactly is going on here; if you leave a job voluntarily, you don't qualify for employment insurance here. so they're refusing to fire her and trying to make her think she has to quit or come in to work. i told her to get that in writing, and they sent an email back saying “we're so glad to hear you've chosen to return to work!” completely omitting their claim that she would have to quit. (because they know that's what'll get them in trouble.)
is there any suggestions or advice i should offer her? i've told her to push more to get their full demands in a written email so she can take that to the labour board and employment insurance, but beyond that, i'm no lawyer and i'm not super familiar with labour laws here in canada. if anyone has advice or suggestions, i'd love to hear it!