Ottawa employment lawyer talks Shopify layoffs

Interview Summary

Shopify has announced that they will once again be laying off a percentage of their workers and offering approximately 16 weeks in severance pay plus an additional week per year of employment. Is this enough for employees? How should severance be calculated in a mass layoff?

Alex Lucifero, an Ottawa employment lawyer and Managing Partner at Samfiru Tumarkin joins Matt Skube on CTV News Ottawa to answer these questions and more on severance and layoffs.

Interview Notes

• Calculating severance for Shopify employees: Applying a standard formula to determine severance will likely lead to an unfair result for many Shopify employees who have been laid off. Severance is based on the age of an employee, their position as well as their years of service.
• The maximum amount of severance: For employees that are older in age, likely in their 50s and 60s and are in senior positions and could have been with an employer for many years, a severance payment for up to 24 months is possible. Short service employees can also be owed a disproportionate amount of severance in relation to a longer service employee.
• Options for Shopify employees who have been laid off: Employees should not make any rash decisions or sign a severance offer immediately. It is important to speak to an employment lawyer in order to determine the fairness of the offer and decide their next steps.