Why You Should Contact a Wrongful Dismissal Lawyer After a Termination of Employment
In those cases, the very first thing to do as a terminated employee is to consult with an experienced employment law firm before signing any documents, especially a severance package, termination letter offer, legal release or any other agreement regarding your employment rights. Why? Because often time, employers will not provide an terminated employee with all of their legal entitlements, especially in a severance package, which means employees who do not seek legal advice could be giving up significant financial compensation.
What Constitutes a Wrongful Dismissal?
Before an employer terminates your employment, they are generally required to provide you with either: (a) prior reasonable notice of termination, or (b) payment in lieu of notice. If you do not receive the appropriate amount of notice period or a financial severance package compensation, you have been wrongfully dismissed. In fact, given that most severance packages do not include a terminated employee’s full legal entitlements under employment law, most terminations in Ontario are actually wrongful dismissals.
When does an employee suffer a wrongful dismissal? Generally, there are three scenarios that justify a wrongful dismissal claim:
- You were terminated without cause and your employer did not give you adequate notice of termination, or financial severance compensation.
- You were unjustly terminated with cause (i.e., no legal justification) and your employer did not give you any financial severance compensation.
- Your employer has made significant changes to your employment without your permission, effectively creating a constructive dismissal.
It is important to note that, unless your employer attempts to fire you “with cause,” you may have a valid wrongful dismissal claim if you do not receive the proper notice of termination or financial severance package. Generally, under Ontario employment law, you can only be terminated with cause for severe misconduct, such as wilful misconduct, disobedience or wilful neglect of duty that is not trivial and has not been condoned by your employer. For instance, if your employer has not adequately documented the reasoning or justification for your dismissal, you may be entitled to severance pay under a wrongful dismissal claim.
If you are an employee who has faced a wrongful dismissal in one of the above ways (or any other manner you believe you were unjustly fired), please speak with our employment lawyer to find out if you have a case of wrongful dismissal.
What Should I Do if I Experienced a Wrongful Dismissal?
After your a wrongful termination, there are very important steps you can take as an employee to ensure you receive all the severance package compensation your employer legally owes you. If you believe you were wrongfully dismissed, you should:
- Do not sign any documentation given to you by your employer, such as any severance offers, termination letter, severance package, or legal release
- Write down some notes about what happened, including names, dates, and what you were told (including at your termination meeting)
- Gather and organize any documents regarding your employment, including:
- Employment contracts
- Performance reviews
- Paystubs
- All correspondence, including emails, letters or texts regarding your termination or work environment issues (e.g., workplace harassment or discrimination)
- Any documents that your employer gives to you during your termination of employment
- Contact an experienced employment lawyer to get legal advice and understand your options before doing anything else.
If you were offered a severance package, that was likely your former employer’s initial (low-ball) offer. In the vast majority of cases, the best thing for employees who face a wrongful dismissal is to have an employment lawyer review your termination package and find out the benefits of negotiating the your termination package with the assistance of an employment lawyer. In fact, most employees are entitled to a lot financial severance package compensation (money!) than their employers let on during termination, and with the help of a top employment lawyer in Toronto, most employees are able to significantly improve their packages.
In summary, to obtain everything you are owed, seek legal advice from an employment lawyer before accepting a termination package. An employment lawyer can assist most employees get the full amount of severance pay compensation they are owed in wrongful dismissal cases.
Bune Law is a top employment law firm in Toronto specializing in wrongful dismissal employment law and litigation, including terminations with cause, terminations without cause, severance package review and negotiation, wrongful dismissal and constructive dismissal claims. If you believe you have been wrongfully terminated, call 647-822-5492 to book a consultation today.
Contact Our Ontario Wrongful Dismissal Lawyer
If you are employee who was recently fired or terminated from your job and wish to know if you have a wrongful dismissal claim entitling you to a severance package, or an employer who believes you have grounds to fire or terminate of your employees, please contact our experienced employment lawyer at Bune Law can help. Contact us by phone 647-822-5492 or fill out the contact form to to the side. We would be happy to assist in your employment law matter as quickly as possible.
Disclaimer: The content on this website and blog is not legal advice or legal opinion of any kind, and is only to provide general information. It is in no way particular to your individual case and should not be relied upon in any way. The outcome of a legal matter depends on its unique circumstances, and prior successes are not indicative of future results. No portion or use of this website or blog will establish a lawyer-client relationship with the author, this law firm or any related party. Should you require legal advice for your particular situation, please fill out the form below, or call 647-822-5492, to request an initial consultation.