Following a vacation, the last thing Ontarians want their employer to tell them is that they are being let go.
The reality is that non-unionized employees in the province can be fired for any reason, as long as they are provided full severance pay and the reasons for their dismissal aren’t discriminatory. This is known as a termination without cause.
Unfortunately, many workers are unaware of their rights to severance when they are fired or let go – putting them at risk of receiving less compensation than they are owed.
If you were terminated after returning from a vacation, here are four things you need to do.
1. Remain calm and professional
While it can be extremely tempting to lash out at your employer after being fired, the best course of action is to keep your cool.
Severance for non-unionized employees in Ontario can be as much as 24 months’ pay. Getting angry or doing something to hurt the company could affect the amount of compensation you are legally entitled to.
READ MORE: 5 ways to determine if your severance package is fair
In some cases, employers try to get out of providing severance by claiming that they have grounds to fire staff for cause.
If this happened to you, contact an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.
We can determine if this type of dismissal was appropriate in your situation and help you secure proper compensation if it wasn’t.
2. Review your severance offer before signing it
Contrary to popular belief, Ontarians don’t have to accept their employer’s severance offer immediately.
If you received a severance offer from your boss, hold off on signing anything until you speak with my firm. The company can’t force you to accept it before leaving a termination meeting or a few days after it was provided to you.
READ MORE: 5 things employees should never do before talking to an employment lawyer
As long as you didn’t sign the offer and return it to your boss, you have two years from the date of your dismissal to pursue full severance pay.
3. Check your employment contract for a termination clause
It’s not uncommon for employers in the province to include a termination clause in their employment contracts – limiting the amount of compensation that an individual is owed when they are fired or let go.
If the contract you signed does include this provision, all hope isn’t lost.
In my experience, these agreements are rarely enforceable – failing to hold up in a court of law for various reasons.
4. Contact us
If you lost your job following a vacation, or for any reason, contact the experienced employment law team at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.
Since 2007, my firm has helped tens of thousands of non-unionized employees in Ontario enforce their rights and obtain the compensation that they are legally entitled to.
READ MORE: 5 of the most common work situations where getting an employment lawyer can help
One of my clients, a supply chain analyst in Toronto, received an email from his manager – accusing him of still being in “vacation mode” three weeks after his trip to Europe.
Shocked by the message, the worker politely asked his boss to outline the issues with his job performance.
Two days later, he got a phone call from his manager – informing him that he was being let go without severance due to his “unacceptable performance.”
Confident that he had been wrongfully dismissed, the supply chain analyst contacted Samfiru Tumarkin LLP following the call.
While explaining the situation to me, he provided a copy of the email exchange with his boss and his most recent performance review.
After reviewing the documents, it was clear that he didn’t meet the conditions necessary to be fired for cause.
Given the strength of the supply chain analyst’s case, I was able to secure a comprehensive severance package for him.
Fired? Lost your job? Boss pressuring you to accept a severance offer immediately?
Contact the firm or call 1-855-821-5900 to secure assistance from an employment lawyer in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. Get the advice you need — and the compensation you deserve.
Lior Samfiru is an employment lawyer and co-founding partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, Canada’s most positively reviewed law firm specializing in employment law and long-term disability claims. He provides legal insight on Canada’s only Employment Law Show on TV and radio.