A performance improvement plan (PIP) is a formal process an employer can use when it says your work is not meeting expectations. A PIP usually identifies performance concerns, sets targets for improvement and gives you a deadline to meet them.
Being put on a PIP is serious—but it does not prove that you are a poor performer, and it does not give your employer an automatic right to fire you for cause without severance.
What should you do if you’re put on a performance improvement plan in Ontario? Take it seriously, respond to anything inaccurate, follow reasonable expectations and document your progress. Don’t resign simply because you’ve been placed on a PIP. If your employer eventually fires you and can’t prove just cause, you can still be entitled to a full Ontario severance package of as much as 24 months’ pay.
On This Page:
- 1. What Is a Performance Improvement Plan?
- 2. Do You Have to Sign a PIP?
- 3. Does a PIP Mean You’re Getting Fired?
- 4. What if the PIP Is Unfair?
- 5. PIPs, Disability and Accommodation
- 6. What Should You Do?
- 7. Frequently Asked Questions
What Is a Performance Improvement Plan in Ontario?
A PIP is a document or process designed to address alleged problems with an employee’s performance.
A typical performance improvement plan identifies:
- The performance concerns your employer says exist
- The standard it expects you to meet
- Specific goals or targets
- A timeline for improvement
- Support, training or resources being provided
- How progress will be measured
- What can happen if your performance does not improve
A PIP can be a genuine attempt to correct a performance problem. It can also become part of an employer’s disciplinary record if the company later decides to terminate the employee.
Is a PIP the same as progressive discipline?
It can be part of progressive discipline. Employers often use coaching, verbal warnings, written warnings and performance plans to give an employee an opportunity to correct an ongoing problem.
Learn more about progressive discipline in Ontario.
Is a PIP the same as a performance review?
No. A regular performance review usually evaluates your work over a period of time. A PIP is more serious because it identifies alleged deficiencies and normally sets specific requirements you must meet within a defined period.
Do You Have to Sign a Performance Improvement Plan?
You do not have to agree with allegations simply because your employer asks you to sign the PIP.
If your employer wants your signature, first understand what the signature means.
If it confirms only that you received the document, you can acknowledge receipt while clearly stating that you do not agree with inaccurate statements.
If the document says that your signature means you agree with the employer’s assessment, don’t sign it without understanding the consequences.
Should you refuse to sign?
Don’t turn the signature issue into a separate disciplinary problem unnecessarily.
A practical response is often:
- Acknowledge that you received the PIP
- State that you do not agree with any inaccurate allegations
- Confirm that you intend to work toward reasonable expectations
- Provide your detailed response separately in writing
This protects the record without creating the impression that you refused to participate in a reasonable performance-management process.
Does a Performance Improvement Plan Mean You’re Getting Fired?
No. A PIP does not automatically mean your employment will end.
But you should treat it as a warning that your employer considers the alleged performance problems serious enough to document formally.
There are two very different ways your employment can end after a PIP.
Termination without cause
An Ontario employer can terminate a non-unionized employee without cause even if the employee did nothing wrong, as long as the dismissal is not illegal and the employer provides the proper notice or compensation.
A PIP does not reduce your severance simply because it exists.
If you are fired without cause, your entitlement is based on your employment contract and factors such as your age, position, length of service and the availability of comparable work.
Termination for cause
An employer can try to rely on repeated poor performance as grounds for termination for cause.
Poor performance does not automatically establish just cause.
Where an employer relies on ongoing performance problems, important questions include whether:
- The required performance standard was clear and reasonable
- You were told specifically what needed to improve
- You understood that your employment was at risk
- You were given a meaningful opportunity to improve
- Appropriate training, information or support was provided
- The employer assessed your improvement fairly
- Your performance remained seriously deficient despite that opportunity
A PIP can help an employer document those steps. It does not make the final conclusion automatic.
See also our guide to being fired for poor performance.
Can you be fired immediately after a PIP?
Your employer can end your employment without cause and provide the proper severance. To deny you severance on the basis of poor performance, however, the employer must establish the much more serious legal standard required for cause.
Our guide to being fired without warning in Ontario explains the distinction.
What if Your Performance Improvement Plan Is Unfair?
Put your disagreement on the record.
If the PIP contains false claims, leaves out important context or sets impossible targets, staying silent can allow the employer’s version of events to become the only written record.
Warning signs include:
- Performance concerns that were never raised before
- Claims that contradict recent positive reviews
- Targets that are substantially higher than those imposed on comparable employees
- Goals that depend on factors outside your control
- Deadlines that do not give you a realistic opportunity to improve
- Missing training, tools or staffing needed to meet the targets
- Constantly changing performance requirements
- Discipline that begins immediately after a complaint, protected leave or accommodation request
How should you respond to an unfair PIP?
Keep the response factual and professional.
Identify:
- What you disagree with
- Why it is inaccurate
- Evidence supporting your position
- What resources or clarification you need
- Any objective changes that would make the targets reasonable
Avoid emotional accusations about the employer’s motives unless you have evidence to support them. Focus on creating an accurate written record.
Can an unfair PIP be constructive dismissal?
A PIP by itself is not normally constructive dismissal. Employers are allowed to manage and evaluate performance.
The issue changes if the PIP is accompanied by serious changes to your employment, such as a major pay cut, demotion, stripping away significant duties, targeted harassment or other conduct that fundamentally changes the employment relationship.
In that situation, there can be a constructive dismissal issue.
Performance Improvement Plans, Disability and Accommodation
An employer can’t fairly assess performance while ignoring a disability or medical limitation that affects your ability to do the job.
Ontario human rights law requires employers to accommodate disability-related needs to the point of undue hardship.
For example, a medical condition can affect:
- Attendance
- Concentration
- Memory
- Speed or productivity
- Ability to perform certain physical duties
- Ability to work particular hours or schedules
If a disability is affecting the performance concerns raised in the PIP, tell your employer that accommodation is required and provide appropriate information about your functional limitations.
Read more about the duty to accommodate in Ontario.
What if your employer should already know something is wrong?
An employer’s obligations do not always begin only after an employee uses the word “accommodation.” Where there are clear signs that a disability is affecting workplace performance, the employer can have a duty to inquire before moving directly to discipline or dismissal.
What if the PIP starts after you request accommodation or take leave?
The timing deserves close attention.
An employer can address genuine performance problems. It can’t use discipline to punish you for exercising protected workplace or human-rights rights.
If negative treatment begins immediately after a complaint, leave or accommodation request, review your rights around workplace retaliation in Ontario.
What Should You Do if You’re Put on a PIP?
- Read it carefully. Identify every allegation, target, deadline and stated consequence.
- Correct important inaccuracies. Respond in writing rather than allowing false allegations to stand uncontested.
- Ask for measurable expectations. You should understand exactly how success will be assessed.
- Ask for the tools you need. Request reasonable training, resources, information or support required to meet the goals.
- Document your progress. Keep records of completed work, positive feedback, targets achieved and meetings about the plan.
- Raise accommodation needs. Don’t allow disability-related limitations to be treated as ordinary performance failures.
- Keep doing your job. Don’t give your employer a separate reason to discipline you while disputing the PIP.
- Don’t resign. Get advice before making any decision that ends your employment.
When should you speak with an employment lawyer?
Get advice promptly if:
- The PIP says termination for cause is the next step
- The allegations are seriously inaccurate
- The goals are impossible or constantly changing
- A disability or accommodation issue is involved
- The PIP followed a complaint, leave or protected workplace activity
- Your employer is asking you to resign or accept a severance package
- You have already been fired
Performance Improvement Plan Ontario: Frequently Asked Questions
Can my employer put me on a PIP in Ontario?
Yes. Employers are allowed to manage performance and set reasonable expectations. You can still challenge inaccurate allegations, discriminatory treatment or an unfair process.
Does a PIP mean I’m going to be fired?
No. A PIP is a serious performance-management step, but it does not guarantee termination. Treat it seriously and protect the written record.
Can I be fired if I fail my PIP?
Yes. Your employer can terminate you without cause and provide proper severance. Failing a PIP does not automatically give the employer just cause to fire you without compensation.
Does a PIP affect my severance?
Not simply because you were placed on one. If the employer can’t establish just cause, your severance remains based on your legal entitlement—not on the fact that a PIP existed.
Can a PIP be extended?
Yes. An employer can extend the performance period if it needs more time to assess improvement. If the employer repeatedly changes the deadline or targets in a way that makes success impossible, document the changes and get advice.
What if I already signed the PIP?
Signing does not necessarily mean you have permanently accepted every allegation. Review what the document actually says and put any important disagreement on the record as soon as possible.
Get Advice About a Performance Improvement Plan in Ontario
Being placed on a PIP can make it feel as though your employer has already decided the outcome. Don’t make that decision for them by resigning or accepting allegations you disagree with.
The Ontario employment lawyers at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP can review the performance plan, your employment history and the employer’s allegations and help you determine how to respond while protecting your job and severance rights.
If you are ultimately fired and your employer wrongly denies or underpays severance, employees in the GTA can speak with our Toronto wrongful dismissal lawyers. Employees in Eastern Ontario can contact our Ottawa wrongful dismissal lawyers.
The process doesn’t need to be overwhelming. Getting advice while you’re still employed can help you respond strategically and preserve your options.