Employment lawyer on Greyhound closure and severance pay

Interview Summary

Greyhound Canada has announced it will be permanently shutting down its services across the country. While the transportation company had previously suspended its service in 2020 due to the pandemic, a complete shutdown will have an impact upon travellers in rural communities as well as employees of the bus routes.

Fiona Martyn, an employment lawyer and Associate at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP spoke with Global News Radio 640 Toronto’s Kelly Cutrara on employee rights and severance entitlements.

Interview Notes

Will Greyhound Canada have to pay its non-union employees severance?

Despite the fact that Greyhound is shutting down its services, they do owe their non-unionized employees severance. Often employees assume that due to the fact that a company is shutting down they are no longer owed severance; however, this is only the case if a company files for bankruptcy. Greyhound employees, as well as other employees terminated during the pandemic, might be entitled to more severance pay as it is potentially more difficult to find comparable future employment.

Do employers misinform employees regarding their severance rights?

Employers are often unaware of their obligations in terms of severance entitlements. Employees face a lot of pressure from their employers to accept the first severance package offer. In most cases, employees are owed more severance than they are initially given and should contact an employment lawyer to review the offer.

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Does the Severance Pay Calculator take the pandemic into account?

Employment lawyers at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP take into account several factors in calculating an employee’s severance entitlements such as the age of the employee, the length of employment, position, and the current economic climate.

Do judges consider the employer as well as the employee in deciding on severance entitlements?

Currently, courts tend to favour the rights of employees in regard to severance entitlements. Due to the pandemic, this could change as some employers are experiencing financial difficulties.