Employee Rights Lawyer Serving Toronto & Ontario | Bune Law
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Most people do not think about employment law until something goes wrong. A termination they did not see coming. A severance package that does not feel right. A workplace that has quietly become somewhere they dread going. An employment contract sitting on a desk with a deadline to sign.
Ontario employment law gives employees meaningful protections. Understanding what those protections actually mean in your specific situation is where Bune Law comes in.
Ontario Gives Employees Real Legal Protections. Most Are Never Fully Explained.
Ontario has some of the most employee-protective employment laws in North America. The Employment Standards Act, 2000 sets minimum entitlements that all employers must meet. But the ESA is the floor, not the ceiling. Common law rights, built through decades of Ontario court decisions, frequently provide employees with significantly greater entitlements than the statute alone, particularly when it comes to termination, severance packages, and the enforceability of employment contracts.
Which Situation Applies to You?
Employment law matters tend to fall into recognizable patterns. Below is a plain-language guide to the most common situations employees face and where to find detailed information about each one.
Wrongful Dismissal
If you've been dismissed and given a severance offer, the central question is whether that offer reflects what you're actually owed under Ontario law, not just the ESA minimum, but your full entitlements at common law. The answer depends on factors specific to your situation: your age, length of service, seniority, and the terms of any employment contract.
Learn About Wrongful Dismissal →Severance Package Review
If you have been dismissed and given a severance offer, the central question is whether that offer reflects what you are actually owed under Ontario law — not just the ESA minimum, but your full entitlements at common law. The answer depends on a range of factors specific to your situation, including your age, length of service, seniority, and the terms of any employment contract.
Review Your Severance Package →Constructive Dismissal
A demotion. A pay cut. A fundamental change in responsibilities. A workplace that became hostile or intolerable. If any of these describe your situation, you may have experienced constructive dismissal, and Ontario law may entitle you to pursue a claim as though a formal termination had taken place.
Learn About Constructive Dismissal →Employment Contract Review
Employment contracts are meant to govern the rights and responsibilities between employers and employees. They routinely contain provisions that significantly affect an employee's legal position, and often in ways that are not apparent on a first read. Review your employment contract with a lawyer to protect your rights in the future, including termination entitlements and restrictive covenants.
Get Your Contract Reviewed →Human Rights & Discrimination
Ontario's Human Rights Code protects employees against discrimination on the basis of protected grounds, and also imposes a duty on employers to accommodate employees in the workplace up to the point of undue hardship. Where a termination was connected to a protected ground, employees may have legal options under Ontario workplace law.
Learn About Human Rights Claims →Workplace Harassment
Workplace harassment can take many forms, including bullying and hostile work environment. Ontario health and safety law protects employees from harassment and from retaliation for reporting it. Where an employer failed to address a complaint or the situation led to a constructive dismissal, legal remedies may be available.
Learn About Workplace Harassment →Additional Employment Law Services
What Makes Employment Law in Ontario Different From What Most Employees Expect
A few things that frequently surprise Ontario employees when they speak with an employment lawyer for the first time:
- Signing quickly can cost you significantly. Severance packages often contain legal releases. Once signed, options narrow considerably, and in some cases are given up entirely. If employees receive a severance package, it is important to ensure you are given reasonable time to obtain legal advice.
- The ESA establishes only an employee's basic minimum entitlements if their employment is terminated without cause. However, most employees are entitled to much more severance pay under common law standards that account for an employee's particular circumstances upon termination, including age, years, and length of service. Often, these common law severance entitlements exceed the basic ESA entitlements.
- Your employment contract may not say what you think it says. Most employment contracts contain important sections that are worded differently from how they are discussed during the job interview stage, including bonus provisions, restrictive covenants, or termination clauses that can restrict severance pay entitlements.
- Not every employment law matter ends in litigation. The majority of wrongful dismissal and severance matters in Ontario are resolved by negotiating severance packages. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your full legal position by reviewing your severance package with an employment lawyer will ensure you leave no money on the table.
- Limitation periods are real. Employment law claims in Ontario are governed by legal deadlines. Waiting too long can affect what options remain available, including to start a wrongful dismissal claim or constructive dismissal claim.
Why Employees Across Toronto, North York, and the GTA Choose Bune Law
At Bune Law, what is at stake for every client is always front of mind. Employment law issues affect your income, your confidence, your family, and your sense of what comes next. Every client deserves to feel that their situation is understood, that their concerns are taken seriously, and that the lawyer handling their file is invested in the outcome. That is not a standard we aspire to. It is how we practise law.
Every matter is handled personally by Sezar Bune, an employment lawyer serving Toronto, North York, and the GTA with over a decade of experience representing employees. There is no handoff. The lawyer you speak with in your first conversation is the lawyer who handles your file through to resolution.
We review important documents and key considerations to determine if you have a case under Ontario employment law, what your legal options are, and how we may be able to assist you going forward.
We formulate a legal strategy and discuss potential outcomes, timelines, legal fees and next steps to move forward together.
Work hand in hand to find the best possible resolution to meet your personal interests and objectives, whether through negotiations or litigation.
Not sure where your situation stands? Speaking with an employment lawyer is the first step toward understanding your options.
Schedule a Consultation Call (647) 822-5492Frequently Asked Questions
Get legal advice from an experienced employment lawyer before signing any document. The severance package your employer has presented, including any termination letter and legal release, is designed to close off your legal options once executed. Before you respond to your employer, sign any documents, or make any statements, speak with an employment lawyer. The time between receiving a severance offer and signing it is when legal advice has the greatest impact and when all of your options remain open.
Rarely. "Standard" typically refers to the ESA minimum, which is the legal floor, not the ceiling of what an employee may be owed. Whether an offer is negotiable, and by how much, depends on the specific facts of the employment relationship. Many offers that are presented as final have considerably more room once an employee has obtained proper legal advice.
The appropriate legal framework depends on the specific facts of what happened, including how the employment relationship ended, what was offered, what the employment contract says, and whether the circumstances involve any additional legal considerations such as human rights concerns or constructive dismissal. An employment lawyer can assess which framework applies and what it means for your specific situation after reviewing the relevant facts.
Possibly, and the answer depends on what changed, how significant the change was, and how you have responded to it so far. Constructive dismissal is recognized under Ontario law where an employer has made a fundamental unilateral change to the terms of employment. How quickly you act and what steps you take before speaking with a lawyer can affect what options remain available, which is why early legal advice matters even when no formal termination has occurred.
Yes. Length of service is one of the most significant factors Ontario courts consider when assessing common law reasonable notice entitlements upon termination. Generally, longer service means greater entitlements, but it is one of many factors courts may consider, alongside age, the nature of the role, seniority, and the availability of comparable employment. The specific combination of factors in your situation is what determines the range of what you may be owed.
The Employment Standards Act, 2000 sets the minimum notice and severance an Ontario employer must provide upon termination. These are statutory entitlements every employee is entitled to regardless of what their employment contract says. Common law reasonable notice is a separate and additional entitlement, determined by Ontario courts based on the specific facts of the employment relationship, that frequently exceeds ESA minimums significantly. The difference between the two, and whether an employment contract validly limits an employee to ESA minimums, is often the central legal question in a wrongful dismissal or severance matter.
Speak Directly With a Toronto Employment Lawyer
Without clear legal advice or representation, employment law issues do not resolve themselves. In fact, legal options that exist today may not exist as you continue to wait.
Whatever your situation, Bune Law will give you a straight answer about where you stand, so you can make an informed decision on the best path forward.
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.
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