Employment Lawyer Helping Ontario Employees Review and Negotiate a Severance Package
Facing a termination of employment can be a difficult, traumatic experience that causes many people to serious concerns about financial obligations, anxiety about future employment and fears of taking a “step back” in their careers.
What’s in a Severance Package?
All across Ontario, employees who have dedicated many years (sometimes their entire career) working for only one company are abruptly told by their employer that their employment is being terminated. In most cases, the employer will provide the employee with a “severance package” (also called a termination package). This typically consists of a termination letter with a severance offer where the employer offers to provide the employee with termination pay or severance pay covering a certain period of time (as well as a full and final legal release where the employee agrees to give up their right to sue the employer in court, such as for wrongful dismissal, constructive dismissal, or discrimination claims).
But, as the old age goes, “the devil’s in the details.” In reality, nearly all severance packages are lowball offers, with some employers intentionally use the employees’ fragile emotional and financial state to persuade them into accepting inadequate settlement offers. To be sure, very few employers provide their best severance pay offer in the termination letter, and are eager for the employee to quickly accept it without negotiating the severance package with an employment lawyer.
Unfortunately, given the stress of losing long-term employment, many employees’ first impression of an employer’s offer in a severance package is that it is generous or, worst yet, their best (or only) choice to get financial compensation. To get to that point, many employers use unfair tactics to pressure employees to quickly accept (and sign) the initial severance pay offer without negotiating their full severance pay entitlements with the help of an experienced employment lawyer. How?
The primary way is for employers to arbitrarily impose short deadlines to accept a severance pay offer, where it attempts to rush the employee to accept the settlement offer by threatening to revoke the severance pay offer if the employee does not sign immediately. For example, the termination letter will usually state something along the lines of:
“If you do not respond by June 4, 2022 (by declining to sign), this offer will be withdrawn without further notice to you, in which case you will receive only the amounts owing to you pursuant to the provisions of the applicable employment legislation.”
For many people unfamiliar with legal terminology, such language is difficult to understand – let alone evaluate whether the employer’s severance pay offer is fair, reasonable and appropriate. The employer’s aim? To instill fear in the employee that they will lose the employer’s “gratuitous” offer of financial compensation (which is unjustified), or the employer will give them only the lower “minimum” amounts required by Ontario employment law.
As an employee facing a termination of employment (wrongful dismissal), it is very important to consult with a Toronto employment lawyer before you ever sign a severance package. At Bune Law, a highly recommended Toronto employment lawyer will help you identify what terms are not necessarily in your favor and will work to negotiate a fair agreement whenever possible. Most importantly, our employment lawyer will advise you when signing a severance package may not serve your best interests at all, and most importantly, what your severance pay legal rights are – and work hard to obtain them for you!
Please call 647-822-5492 today to review your employer’s termination package.
Contact Employment Lawyer Today
If you are an employer who would like to know your options before terminating one of your employees, or an employee who has recently lost your job and would like to know if you have the right to sue your employer for wrongful dismissal or negotiate your severance package, our experienced employment lawyer at Bune Law can help. Contact us by phone 647-822-5492 or fill out the contact form to the side. We would be happy to assist in your employment law matter as quickly as possible.
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