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A Sharp Reminder: Doctor’s Notes, Last Chance Deals, and Credibility in the Workplace

An industrial butcher with three years’ seniority learned the hard way that his Last Chance Agreement was not to be trifled with. In UFCW, Local 175 & 633 v. Cargill Limited (Dunlop), Arbitrator John Martelli upheld the dismissal of a long-term employee who breached a Last Chance Agreement (LCA) by missing a single day of work and failing to produce a timely doctor’s note.

The grievor had already been on thin ice after intentionally overstaying a vacation to his home country of El Salvador in 2022 and falsely claiming that he could not return to Canada due to residency issues. Rather than terminate, Cargill gave him a reprieve under an LCA that explicitly imposed zero tolerance for any unauthorized absences and barred an arbitrator from softening the penalty.

The Grievor later missed two days due to illness without providing prompt documentation from his doctor.  His supervisor used his discretion to excuse the absences as reasonable but warned the Grievor explicitly that any further absence without authorization and without proper documentation excusing him from work would lead to his termination under the LCA.

Despite repeated reminders, the employee took a sick day in July 2023 and didn’t submit medical documentation until months later. The union argued that his chronic prostate condition explained the absence, and further that the LCA was unclear and even discriminatory given that an employee should not be disciplined for a medical absence.

Arbitrator Martelli disagreed. He found the employee knew exactly what was required, ignored direct warnings, and deliberately failed to follow the rules. The arbitrator also held that this wasn’t a human rights case in substance, it was a contract dispute. The issue wasn’t the medical condition; it was the lack of a doctor’s note explaining the absence.  All parties to the LCA were clear that if the employee was going to miss work for a medical reason, he needed to promptly provide supporting medical information. The Grievor failed to do so in this case, and even when the medical information as provided months later, it was inconsistent with the Grievor’s initial reasons for missing work that he was simply “feeling ill”.

Even the Employment Standards Act protection against termination without “wilful misconduct” could not help the Grievor. The arbitrator found the Grievor’s conduct in failing to get a doctor’s note was deliberate, not careless. The grievance was dismissed in full.

Key Takeaways for Employers

• LCAs work—when drafted clearly and enforced consistently. The arbitrator treated the LCA as binding and respected the bargain that no lesser penalty could be substituted by an arbitrator.
• Consistency matters, but clarity cures. The Union argued forcefully that a manager’s earlier leniency nearly undermined the LCA, but the arbitrator found that a later, unequivocal warning explicitly forewarned the consequences.
• Documentation is your best tool. Employers who maintain paper trails in support of their management decisions—meeting notes, warnings, signed agreements, correspondences—are in the best position to succeed when credibility becomes the deciding factor.

This decision reinforces that Last Chance Agreements are not symbolic; they are enforceable contracts of accountability. Employers who apply them firmly but fairly can stand on solid ground when discipline is challenged.

The Lawyers for Employers at CCPartners have experience in all facets of attendance management, discipline, grievance arbitration, and drafting and enforcing last chance agreements.

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