Cineplex Layoffs and Severance Pay

Cineplex recently announced they are laying off 5,000 part-time employees in Ontario. The company has been forced to shut down theatre venues due to recent indoor capacity restrictions put in place by the Ontario government on January 5.

Cineplex, a Canadian company that operates 165 theatres across the country and employs over 13,000 employees, has taken similar action in Quebec. Over 1,000 workers were laid off in response to the province’s major shutdown in the face of rising Omicron cases.

This is not the first time Cineplex has laid off thousands of employees. At the outset of the pandemic in March 2020, the cinema behemoth laid off thousands of workers as the country entered a strict lockdown.

The Cineplex employees that find themselves on a temporary layoff in Ontario may be able to access Employment Insurance and support from the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit.

Many companies are struggling to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Cineplex’s mass layoffs are likely the beginning of more layoffs in Canada to occur in 2022.

Fired or laid off from Cineplex?

When an employee is fired, let go, or laid off, there are certain employment rights in place to protect the financial interests of employees. Depending on how you were let go, as well as certain conditions within your employment contract, you may be entitled to a full severance package.

A temporary layoff can also trigger severance entitlements for an employee. It is illegal for an employer to impose a layoff without an employee’s permission. A drastic reduction in hours of work and pay is no different than a termination, which is why this is referred to as a constructive dismissal. When this occurs, the employee can pursue severance pay with help from an employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.

In cases where a company is forced to close due to a government mandate, employees are not able to claim constructive dismissal and leave with full severance. This applies to the Cineplex closure in January 2022.

Severance Pay for Cineplex Employees

All non-unionized employees who are let go must receive severance pay. If you were laid off and Cineplex did not offer you a severance package, you have the option to consider your temporary layoff as a termination, and get your full severance pay.

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru provides a quick primer on severance packages in a season 6 episode of the Employment Law Show.

How do Cineplex employees calculate severance pay?

Severance pay is calculated by considering a number of factors, such as an employee’s age, position, and length of employment. Severance can be as much as 24 months’ pay.

Want to find out how much severance pay you could be owed? Try our Severance Pay Calculator to get a quick and easy understanding of how much severance pay should be.

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Do part-time employees get severance?

Part-time employees, including those working for Cineplex, are entitled to a severance package when they lose their job. Termination rights for part-time workers do not differ from those working in a full-time position.

Severance offers and deadlines

Employees who are let go and are presented with a severance package do not have to sign off on the offer by their employer’s deadline. Employers often use severance offer deadlines to pressure employees into agreeing to an amount that is well below what they are owed.

You actually have two years from the date of your termination to pursue your severance entitlements. You also have a right to have any offer your employer makes reviewed by an employment lawyer before you accept it. Don’t leave money on the table – contact an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP to have your severance offer reviewed.

As Canada’s most positively reviewed law firm, our team can provide you with the advice you need, and the compensation you deserve.

Disclaimer: The materials above are provided as general information about the rights of employees in Canada. It is not specific to any one company and should not be read as suggesting any improper conduct on the part of any specific employer.