Employee’s right to reinstatement after termination: Employment lawyer on 640 Toronto

Interview Summary

A former Cloudflare employee has gone viral on social media after she secretly recorded her termination meeting and posted it on TikTok.

After realizing that many of her colleagues were laid off in a similar fashion, the staff member pushed HR for answers in the nine-minute video.

Does the manner of termination factor into the amount of severance pay an employee is owed? Do workers in Canada have the right to request reinstatement in their former position?

Jon Pinkus, an Ontario employment lawyer and Partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, joined Kelly Cutrara on 640 Toronto to answer these questions and discuss employee rights.

• SEE ALSO: Employment lawyer discusses workers filming their layoffs with CTV News

Interview Notes

• Impersonal terminations of employment: Some employers terminate employees through very impersonal means, such as through letters or large online meetings. Online terminations have become more frequent due to the shift towards remote or hybrid work arrangements for many workplaces.
• Reinstatement after termination: It is not common practice to reinstate a formerly terminated employee. In Canada, most employees work in provincially regulated positions. Provincially regulated employees do not have the right of reinstatement, as many federally regulated employees do. Employees can, however, pursue more severance pay after a termination without cause.
• Employer mistakes in the termination process: Employees in Canada are unlikely to gain any advantages from saying something to their former employer in a termination meeting. Employees facing termination should seek legal advice after termination to determine their next steps and entitlements.