Severance Package Lawyer
in Toronto, Ontario
Your Employer Made an Offer. You Have the Right to Know If It Is Fair.
If your employer has given you a severance package, you are being asked to sign away your legal rights permanently, often under significant time pressure and without the information you need to assess whether the offer reflects what you may be owed.
Being let go is already stressful. Pressure to sign quickly only compounds that. Employers often include short deadlines that limit the time you have to properly assess your entitlements under Ontario severance pay rules.
At Bune Law, our severance lawyer carefully reviews your package, explains where it stands relative to your legal entitlements under Ontario law, and advises clearly on whether the offer should be negotiated.
In our experience, an employer's initial severance offer is rarely the last offer that can be achieved. Where there is a meaningful opportunity to improve the outcome, our employment lawyer advises on the appropriate strategy and, if it makes sense, negotiates professionally on your behalf, with the preparation and focus that comes from over 12 years of representing both employees and employers in Ontario employment disputes.
The most important step you can take right now is to have your severance package reviewed before you sign anything.
What Your Employer's Offer Actually Represents
Ontario employers, particularly those with in-house legal teams or outside employment counsel, routinely structure initial severance offers to reflect the minimum they believe they are required to pay. The termination letter is a legal document drafted to close the matter as efficiently and inexpensively as possible for the employer. In most cases, it is not a genuine calculation of everything you may be owed related to your termination.
The difference between an initial severance offer and a properly negotiated outcome can be substantial. For example, a mid-level manager with twelve years of service may receive an offer that falls well below what Ontario common law could ultimately require the employer to pay. Identifying and addressing that difference typically requires a careful legal assessment of the offer and, where warranted, a negotiation with the employer conducted from a position of preparation.
Ontario severance entitlements are governed by three overlapping frameworks: the Employment Standards Act, 2000, which sets the statutory floor; common law reasonable notice, which often provides significantly greater entitlements; and the specific terms of any employment contract, including whether a termination clause limits your rights or whether it may be unenforceable under Ontario law. Understanding how those frameworks apply to your specific situation is precisely what a severance package review is designed to provide.
Ontario severance pay entitlements exist on three levels: statutory minimums under the Employment Standards Act, 2000; common law reasonable notice, which is almost always higher; and your employment contract, which may expand or attempt to limit those rights. A severance package lawyer can identify which framework applies and whether the offer you received falls short of what you are actually owed.
What Does a Severance Package Review Actually Involve?
A professional severance package review is not simply a cursory read of the offer letter. It is a thorough assessment of your complete employment situation, including the full history of the relationship, the circumstances of the termination, the terms of any employment contract, and the range of factors Ontario courts consider when assessing what an employee may be owed.
As part of that assessment, our employment lawyer reviews:
- The severance offer itself, including what is being offered, the legal framework it relies on, and whether it reflects your full potential entitlements under Ontario law
- Your length of service, age, and the nature and level of responsibility in your role, all of which affect the range of what may be owed under Ontario severance pay rules
- Any employment contract or original offer letter, including whether any termination clause is likely to be enforceable under Ontario law
- The specific circumstances of the termination, including whether the manner of dismissal raises additional legal considerations
- Whether the situation may involve elements beyond a straightforward termination, such as constructive dismissal, human rights concerns, or employer conduct that warrants closer legal review
- The realistic range of what a negotiated outcome may achieve, and whether pursuing negotiation makes sense in light of your particular circumstances
The goal is a candid, clear-eyed assessment of where your offer stands and what your options are before you make a permanent decision.
The Negotiation: What Happens After a Severance Package Review
Working with a severance package lawyer means you are not negotiating alone. Most severance matters in Ontario do not require litigation. They require informed, strategic negotiation conducted by counsel who understands how employers and their legal teams think, what they are trying to protect, and where they have room to move. At Bune Law, our employment lawyer Sezar Bune has represented both employees and employers in termination and severance matters, which means we understand how the other side builds its position and where that position has room to move.
In our experience, the negotiation process resolves most severance matters on terms significantly better than the employer's initial offer. What makes the difference is preparation and the credibility that comes with experienced legal representation. Where negotiation does not achieve a fair result, we are prepared to advise on the appropriate legal avenues and pursue them where necessary.
Why Having an Employment Lawyer Review Your Severance Package Before Signing Matters
Once an employee signs a severance package, revisiting it becomes extremely difficult. Employers include legal releases for this reason: to resolve all issues arising from the termination and close off further claims after the agreement is signed.
The period between receiving a severance package and signing it is the most important stage in the entire process. This is when legal advice has the greatest impact, when negotiating leverage is strongest, and when all options remain available.
Waiting or signing a severance package without experienced legal advice narrows those options considerably. In some cases, it eliminates them entirely.
Most severance package reviews can be completed efficiently. The process does not need to be lengthy or contentious. It simply needs to occur before the agreement is signed.
Why Clients Choose Bune Law for Severance Package Review and Negotiation
The difference between an adequate severance outcome and the best available outcome often comes down to preparation. At Bune Law, every file receives a thorough assessment of your employment history, your termination circumstances, and the full range of entitlements that apply, so that when we negotiate, we negotiate from the strongest possible position.
Sezar Bune is a member of the Law Society of Ontario. Bune Law represents employees across Toronto and throughout Ontario in severance package review, negotiation, and wrongful dismissal matters.
Bay Street Knowledge. Entirely On Your Side.
Before founding Bune Law, Sezar spent years representing both employees and employers at prominent Ontario employment law firms. He understands how corporate legal teams approach terminations, how they structure initial severance offers, and what they are counting on employees not to know. That experience is now entirely on your side.
A Candid Assessment Before You Make Any Decisions.
Every client at Bune Law receives a clear, honest review of where their severance package stands relative to their legal entitlements under Ontario law, in plain language, without overpromising. The goal is a candid assessment of your position and your options before you make a permanent decision.
Senior-Level Attention. Every File, Start to Finish.
Every file is handled directly by Sezar Bune from the initial consultation through to resolution. There are no handoffs to junior lawyers, paralegals, or students. If you have received a severance offer and want to understand where it stands, we are ready to help.
1,500+ Clients. 4.9 Stars. Results That Speak for Themselves.
Bune Law has served over 1,500 clients across Toronto and throughout Ontario, with a 4.9-star rating across 165+ Google reviews. Employees who work with a severance package lawyer before signing consistently leave with a clearer picture of their rights and, in most cases, a significantly better outcome than what they were initially offered.
Frequently Asked Questions
This is often the most important question employees face. In most situations, employees benefit from obtaining legal advice before signing a severance agreement. Once a severance package is signed, it is extremely difficult to revisit. The review and negotiation process does not need to be lengthy, but it must occur before the agreement is signed.
Most severance offers in Ontario are negotiable, and many employees are entitled to more than the initial offer reflects. Speaking with an employment lawyer before signing is often the key step in protecting your interests.
Fairness cannot usually be determined without a professional severance package review by an employment lawyer. A severance offer that appears reasonable on its face may reflect only the minimum requirements under the Employment Standards Act, 2000, which represents the legal floor and not necessarily the full amount an employee may be owed.
Factors such as length of service, age, seniority, the enforceability of any termination clause in an employment contract, and the circumstances of the dismissal can all affect the range of potential entitlements. A severance package review provides the legal analysis needed to evaluate where an offer may fall within that range.
Employers often present severance offers with relatively short timelines and language suggesting the offer may not remain available indefinitely. Employees are generally expected to have a reasonable opportunity to obtain legal advice before deciding whether to sign.
An experienced employment lawyer can assess whether the timeline being imposed is reasonable in the circumstances and advise on the options available. A short deadline alone does not mean a severance package must be signed immediately.
Severance matters sometimes involve circumstances that extend beyond a straightforward termination. Significant changes to a role, compensation, or working conditions, or a workplace environment that becomes intolerable, may raise legal issues beyond the severance offer itself, including questions related to constructive dismissal.
A thorough severance package review can help identify whether these additional considerations may be relevant to the situation and how they could affect the overall legal position. If your circumstances may involve constructive dismissal, visit our Constructive Dismissal page for a detailed explanation of how that legal framework may apply.
In most cases, a severance package review can be completed efficiently, often within a timeframe that allows employees to respond to their employer without unnecessary delay.
The process does not need to be lengthy or complicated. What matters most is that the review occurs before the agreement is signed. Bune Law understands that employees facing termination are often working within tight timelines, and severance package reviews are handled accordingly.
In most circumstances, once a severance package containing a legal release has been signed, it becomes very difficult to revisit. There are limited situations where further options may potentially exist, such as where it may have been signed under duress, without a meaningful opportunity to obtain legal advice, or where the release may otherwise be unenforceable, but in our experience, these are rare.
Whether any such circumstances apply depends on the specific facts of the situation and is something an employment lawyer can assess. This is one of the key reasons legal advice before signing is so important.
Have Your Severance Package Reviewed by a Toronto Severance Package Lawyer
If you have received a severance package and are uncertain whether it reflects what you are legally owed, the most important step you can take right now is to obtain a clear legal assessment before signing anything. Once a severance agreement is signed, it is extremely difficult to revisit. The time to act is before you put pen to paper.
Sezar Bune is a Toronto employment lawyer who has represented both employees and employers throughout his career. He understands how severance packages are structured, what employers are counting on employees not to know, and where there is room to negotiate a better outcome. Every severance package review at Bune Law receives direct, senior-level attention from start to finish.
Whether your situation involves a straightforward termination, a complex employment contract, a long service record, or circumstances that may raise questions beyond the severance offer itself, Bune Law, a trusted severance package attorney serving Toronto and Ontario, will give you an honest assessment of where you stand and what your options are. Bune Law serves employees across Toronto, North York, and throughout the Greater Toronto Area and Ontario.
This page provides general information about Ontario employment law for educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Every situation is different. Contact Bune Law to discuss the specific circumstances of your matter.
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