Wrongful dismissals during COVID-19

What is a Wrongful Dismissal?

A wrongful dismissal occurs when a person is let go from their job and they aren’t paid enough severance. Employers often think they can get away with paying the least amount of severance pay. They ignore common law severance entitlements they must pay to employees.

This is because common-law severance entitles employees to a lot more severance pay. A claim for wrongful dismissal allows you to go after your full severance. If you recently lost your job, do not sign anything before you consult with an employment lawyer. You could be signing away tens of thousands of dollars in lost compensation.

How common are wrongful dismissals during COVID-19?

Wrongful dismissals are more common now than ever before. Some employers claim that COVID-19 means they can pay their employees less. They might try to justify reducing termination pay for their employees. If anything, employees are actually entitled to more compensation during the pandemic.

How do I know if I’ve been wrongfully dismissed?

If you lost your job during the pandemic, you were most likely not offered the proper amount of severance pay. If you were recently terminated, it’s fair to assume you were wrongfully dismissed. An easy way to confirm this is to go to our Severance Pay Calculator. It will estimate the amount of severance pay you should have received. It will also tell you how much more money you’re owed compared to what you were offered. It’s anonymous and it’s free to use. You can also reach out to me or someone on my team and to help you resolve this and get the severance you’re owed.

How to prove a wrongful dismissal

When an employer lets an employee go they have an obligation to provide severance pay. It does not matter why an employee was let go, as long as they are provided severance pay.

Under common law, severance is determined by considering many factors. These include an employee’s age, job title, length of service, and availability of similar employment. Every case will be different. But COVID-19 has made it harder to find new employment, so employees could be entitled to even more severance.

The role of employment contracts in wrongful dismissals

One way to determine if you’ve been wrongfully dismissed is to check your employment contract. Your employment contract may have a clause in it to try to restrict severance to the least amount.

If you were given the amount outlined in your employment contract, it may not be a wrongful dismissal. But clauses meant to restrict severance are often not valid or enforceable. An employment lawyer can help determine if any clauses in your contract are valid. They can also tell you if it can actually restrict your severance pay.

I was let go “for cause”. Is it still a wrongful dismissal?

An employer can let an employee go for any reason, as long as it is not discriminatory and they provide severance. An employer can also let an employee go “for cause,” in which case they would not be obligated to provide any notice or severance pay.

But, some employers will let employees go and say that it is “for cause” to avoid having to pay out severance. It is a money-saving tactic. You can still sue for wrongful dismissal and show that the “for cause” dismissal was not justified. Most “for cause” terminations are not legitimate and can be overturned with the help of an employment lawyer.

I have been wrongfully dismissed. What should I do?

If you were let go and you did not receive enough severance pay, you can make a claim for wrongful dismissal. In that case, you would need to contact an employment lawyer who will make the claim on your behalf. The claim will seek damages for the amount of severance pay that you are entitled to.

This is not a difficult process. Most wrongful dismissal cases are settled outside of court, within a matter of weeks. It is a simple process that an experienced employment lawyer can address for you. If you think you have been wrongfully dismissed, reach out to the legal team at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, and get the compensation you are owed.