Fired daycare worker's case dismissed after leaving child unattended outside: labour tribunal

The Quebec Labour Tribunal logo photographed in Jan. 2024. (Jacques Boissinot, The Canadian Press)

An early childhood educator who challenged her dismissal after leaving a child unattended outside the establishment has lost her case.

The Quebec Administrative Labour Tribunal dismissed her complaint that challenged her dismissal in June 2021.

It ruled that the act was sufficiently serious to justify the employer's decision to terminate her the day after she left a two-and-a-half-year-old child unsupervised for around 15 minutes after an outing in the daycare playground.

"The fact that nothing dramatic happened to the young child for whom she was responsible is in no way a mitigating factor because her behaviour exposed him to real and significant danger when he found himself alone near a major Montreal boulevard. It is hard to imagine a worse risk for a two-and-a-half-year-old child," the tribunal ruled.

The group of children, under the responsibility of the educator, had gone for an outing in the daycare centre's courtyard before returning inside. Another educator spotted the child outside.

At the hearing, the educator tried to shift the blame to the employer, claiming that the facilities were unsafe. She also tried to shift the blame onto a colleague, even though "she was responsible for counting the children in her group," the tribunal pointed out.

It also pointed out that when she spoke with the CPE's general manager on the day of the incident, she told her that she understood that it was a serious fault and added that she had not done it on purpose.

The tribunal also noted that she had received warnings concerning failings in educational practices and the lack of stimulation of the children in her care between June 2019 and July 2020.

The tribunal dismissed her complaint: "It does not appear appropriate to modify the employer's decision to dismiss the complainant. This decision was based on just and sufficient cause.

"Indeed, the plaintiff failed in her primary duty as an educator to ensure the safety of the children in the group for which she was responsible. The fact that the forgetfulness was not premeditated cannot militate in favour of a more lenient sanction," the tribunal concluded.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 26, 2024.