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Wrongful Dismissal Defence for
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Most Ontario employers don't lose wrongful dismissal claims because the termination was wrong. They lose because of how it was handled, a flawed termination clause, missing documentation, or improper notice. Bune Law helps Toronto employers terminate with cause correctly and defend against claims when they arise.

Facing a wrongful dismissal claim — or planning a termination?

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Why Ontario Employers Lose Wrongful Dismissal Cases

It rarely comes down to whether the termination was justified — it comes down to how it was handled.

Termination Clauses That No Longer Hold Up

Ontario courts regularly strike down termination clauses that fail to strictly comply with the Employment Standards Act. A clause that held up when it was drafted may not survive scrutiny today and when courts reject it, common law notice applies instead. The difference in cost to your business can be significant.

The ESA Minimums Are a Floor, Not a Ceiling

The Employment Standards Act, 2000 sets the minimum an employer must provide on termination, not the ceiling. Without a valid, enforceable termination clause, courts apply common law reasonable notice, which can reach months beyond ESA minimums depending on the employee's role, tenure, and circumstances.

How You Terminate Can Cost More Than the Severance

How a termination is communicated, documented, and carried out can generate liability entirely separate from the notice calculation. Damage claims rooted in the manner of dismissal, not the amount of severance owed are among the most preventable exposures Ontario employers face.

How We Help

What Employers Come to Bune Law For

A Termination to Manage

How a termination is structured, documented, and communicated determines the legal exposure that follows. Factoring in an employee's obligation to mitigate their damages by seeking comparable work is also a strategic consideration when putting together a severance package. Employers who get legal advice before acting are consistently better positioned than those who call after the fact.

A Wrongful Dismissal Claim to Respond To

If a former employee has already filed a wrongful dismissal claim, the record is fixed — but the outcome is not. A clear assessment of where you stand, combined with a focused defence, makes a real difference in how these matters resolve.

Employment Contracts That Have Not Been Reviewed in Years

Employment contracts fall out of step with Ontario employment law without any obvious sign. A termination clause that held up three years ago may not hold up today. If your contracts have not been reviewed recently, that review is overdue.

Sezar Bune, Employment Lawyer at Bune Law Toronto
Why Bune Law

Experience From Both Sides of the Table

Most wrongful dismissal claims are preventable. The ones that cannot be prevented are almost always defensible, provided the termination was handled correctly from the start.

Bune Law has represented both employers and employees in wrongful dismissal disputes across Ontario. That background is directly relevant to how we defend employers. We know where exposure comes from, how opposing counsel looks for it, and what separates a termination that ends cleanly from one that ends in litigation.

We know how employee-side counsel builds these claims. We know where they look for leverage, which documentation gaps they target, and how they frame manner-of-dismissal arguments. That knowledge shapes how we advise employers before a termination happens and how we respond when a claim comes in after.

If you are preparing to terminate an employee, responding to an existing claim, or working with contracts that have not been reviewed in years, the experience we bring to that work has a direct bearing on the outcome.

Speak Directly With Sezar About Your Matter

If you are an employer with a termination to manage, a wrongful dismissal claim to respond to, or employment contracts that have not been reviewed since they were first drafted, that conversation starts here. Sezar will give you a straight, honest assessment of where you stand and what needs to happen next.

Know the Risks

What Most Ontario Employers Get Wrong About Wrongful Dismissal

Wrongful dismissal does not require bad intent. It does not require malice or a dramatic confrontation. Under Ontario employment law, it occurs whenever an employee is let go without cause and without the notice they were legally entitled to receive. Knowing how to terminate an employee correctly, and understanding the difference between termination with cause and without cause in Ontario, is what separates a controlled outcome from a costly one.

1

Treating ESA Minimums as the Full Extent of What Is Owed

Common law reasonable notice frequently exceeds statutory minimums by a wide margin. A contract that has not been reviewed recently may not limit that exposure the way the employer assumes it does.

2

Relying on a Termination Clause That No Longer Holds Up

Outdated drafting, missing consideration, ambiguous language, or non-compliance with current ESA requirements are all grounds for a court to strike down a clause the employer counted on.

3

Asserting Just Cause Without Sufficient Legal Grounds

Inadequate documentation, inconsistent discipline, or skipping progressive discipline typically produces greater liability than a properly structured without-cause termination. Understanding the legal threshold for just cause termination in Ontario before acting is critical.

4

Underestimating How Courts Assess Reasonable Notice

Age, length of service, character of employment, and realistic re-employment prospects (the Bardal factors) regularly produce notice periods that bear no resemblance to what the employer expected to owe.

5

Overlooking the Employee's Duty to Mitigate

A former employee's obligation to look for comparable work affects the damages calculation directly. Addressing this early changes both the severance figure and how the matter is negotiated.

6

Handling the Termination in a Way That Attracts Additional Damages

Aggravated, moral, and bad faith damages are assessed separately from notice. They arise from how the termination was carried out and apply even where the underlying decision to terminate was lawful.

7

Poorly Structured Severance Packages or Release Agreements

A release that is rushed, incomplete, or presented without giving the employee a real opportunity to obtain independent legal advice creates enforceability problems that surface long after the termination.

8

Termination Timing That Creates Human Rights Exposure

A dismissal that follows a disability, pregnancy, leave of absence, accommodation request, or workplace complaint draws scrutiny under the Ontario Human Rights Code — regardless of how the termination is framed.

9

A Poorly Handled Termination Meeting

Insensitive communication, inconsistent explanations, or public embarrassment during the termination itself can generate damage claims that have nothing to do with how much notice was owed.

Any one of these issues can turn a routine termination into a costly dispute. Whether you are dealing with termination with cause in Ontario or managing a without-cause separation, the earlier legal advice is obtained, the more options remain open and the lower the overall exposure.

Know Before You Act

With Cause or Without Cause: Why That Distinction Defines Your Exposure

Termination without cause is the more common scenario and the more commonly misunderstood one. No reason is required, but reasonable notice, or pay in lieu, is. What most employers do not realize until a claim arrives is that the amount owed has very little to do with what the employment contract says and even less to do with the ESA schedule. Ontario courts look at the full picture: how long the employee was there, how old they are, how senior the role was, and how difficult it will be for them to find comparable work. For long-service or senior employees, that figure can be significant.

Termination with cause is a legitimate option in Ontario, but it is one of the most misused. Courts are not moved by frustration, a history of performance issues, or a relationship that has broken down. What just cause termination in Ontario actually requires is documented, serious misconduct that justifies dismissal, on the full record, without a single day of notice. When an employer asserts just cause without that foundation, the outcome is typically worse than a properly structured without-cause termination would have produced.

Termination Without Cause Termination With Cause (Just Cause)
Reason Required? No reason needed Yes: serious documented misconduct required
Notice or Pay Required? Yes: ESA minimum or common law No: only if cause is legally proven
Legal Standard Lower: employer must provide proper notice or pay in lieu High: courts apply a demanding contextual test, not decided by the employer
Common Risk Unenforceable termination clause triggers common law notice, often far beyond ESA minimums Asserting cause without sufficient foundation results in wrongful dismissal plus potential bad faith damages
Severance Owed? Yes: ESA minimum and potentially common law No: only if cause is legally established
Key Consideration Is the termination clause enforceable? What is the realistic common law notice period? Is there documented progressive discipline? Will the conduct meet the legal threshold?
Best Practice Get legal advice before structuring the severance package and termination letter Speak with an employment lawyer before acting. Reasons for termination with cause must be legally sound

The decision about how to characterize a termination should be made before the conversation with the employee happens, not after. That is when the options are still open. If you are unsure whether just cause exists or how to structure a without-cause termination in Ontario, speak with Sezar before you act.

Frequently Asked Questions

When an employer proceeds with a termination without cause in Ontario, severance pay is assessed under two separate frameworks. The Employment Standards Act, 2000 establishes the legal minimums: termination pay based on length of service, plus statutory severance pay in certain circumstances. Courts separately assess common law reasonable notice, or pay in lieu of notice, based on the Bardal factors: the employee's age, length of service, character of the position, and re-employment prospects. Common law notice frequently exceeds ESA minimums by a significant margin.

Whether a termination clause limits that exposure depends on whether it is actually enforceable, which is not always the case. The gap between what an employer believes it owes and what a court determines can be substantial.

Not automatically. Ontario courts have struck down a significant number of termination clauses, including ones that appeared clear and reasonable on their face, because they failed to meet ESA standards, were drafted ambiguously, or were not incorporated into the employment relationship in a way courts will accept. When a clause is found unenforceable, the employee is entitled to common law reasonable notice without reference to the contract at all.

If your employment agreements have not been reviewed recently, there may be more exposure than the contracts suggest. This is worth addressing before any termination without cause in Ontario moves forward.

Just cause is a demanding legal standard in Ontario. Courts assess whether the employee's conduct was serious enough, in all the circumstances, to justify dismissal without notice. That assessment is contextual, not formulaic. Relevant factors include the nature and gravity of the misconduct, the employee's length of service and prior record, whether warnings were given, and whether the conduct was condoned over time.

Asserting cause without a sufficient foundation typically produces a worse outcome than a properly structured without-cause termination would have. If you believe just cause exists, speak with an employment lawyer before you act.

The early steps matter. What gets said, what gets disclosed, and how you respond to initial correspondence all affect what the matter ends up costing. Getting legal advice before responding gives you a clear picture of the realistic liability range and what options are available, including whether early resolution or a defence position makes more sense in your specific circumstances. This applies whether you are dealing with a without-cause termination dispute or a just cause challenge.

Yes. Ontario courts can award damages for bad faith or manner of dismissal, separate from wrongful dismissal damages and on top of them, where an employer acts in a way that is untruthful, misleading, or unduly insensitive during the termination process. This includes making allegations of cause that cannot be proven, humiliating the employee in front of colleagues, or withholding information the employee needed to make an informed decision about a severance package.

How a termination is carried out is a distinct legal question from how much notice was owed.

Have more questions? Visit our Employment Law FAQ page for additional guidance.

Speak Directly With a Toronto Employment Lawyer for Employers

Whether you are managing a termination, responding to a wrongful dismissal claim, or reviewing employment contracts before they become a problem, the starting point is an honest assessment of where you actually stand.

A properly structured termination costs a fraction of a wrongful dismissal claim. One conversation with Sezar Bune can make all the difference.

Contact Bune Law today to speak directly with Sezar Bune about your employment law matter in Toronto, North York, or anywhere across the GTA and Ontario.

The information on this page is general in nature and intended for informational purposes only. It reflects legal principles applicable in Ontario and does not constitute legal advice. Contact Bune Law directly to understand how these principles apply to your matter.

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