Employment lawyer, CTV News, on Canadian bank employee rights amid downsizing

Interview Summary

Many Canadian banks have announced layoffs over the past few months. This has led to thousands of individuals facing unemployment.

As banking is considered to be a federally regulated industry, questions have arisen concerning entitlements upon termination.

Are federally regulated employees owed the same severance as provincially regulated workers? Can federally regulated employees be terminated without cause?

Alex Lucifero, an Ontario employment lawyer and Managing Partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, joined CTV News Ottawa with Matt Skube to answer these questions and more on employee rights.

Interview Notes

• Difference between federally and provincially regulated employees: Certain industries across Canada are federally regulated as opposed to provincially, such as banking, communications, air transportation, etc. There are no major differences between the rights of federally and provincially regulated employees apart from termination.
• Terminating without cause: Federally regulated employees must be given a legitimate reason for termination and can’t be let go without cause. A reason can be performance-related or due to downsizing.
• Severance pay calculations: Severance calculations for federally regulated employees are based on a variety of factors, including age, length of service, position at the company, and their ability to find new work. Severance for some employees can be up to 24 months.