Client Win: 17 Months’ Severance Upheld After Director Rejects Pay Cut

Samfiru Tumarkin LLP successfully secured a 17-month severance package for a director. The Ontario Court of Appeal rejected the company’s argument that he should have accepted a lower-paid job and ordered it to pay $7,000 in legal costs.

Roy Fillmore had spent about 19 years with Hercules SLR Inc. When the company restructured, it ended his employment and offered him a supervisor position doing the same work for substantially less money.

Fillmore was represented by employment lawyer David Vaughan for our firm.

The Employer Said He Should Have Taken The Lower-Paid Job

The first judge awarded Fillmore compensation based on 17 months’ notice. Hercules appealed.

The company did not challenge the 17-month period. Instead, it argued that Fillmore should have reduced his financial losses by accepting its new job offer. It wanted his refusal to count against his severance claim.

That put the value of his court win at risk—even though he had already won his case.

How Our Team Protected His Severance

Our team showed that accepting the lower-paid job could have meant giving up his right to more severance. The employer’s offer did not make clear that he could take the job and still seek the money he was owed.

The Court of Appeal agreed that Fillmore did not have to take that risk. It rejected the employer’s appeal, keeping his 17-month severance award in place.

Read the full decision: Fillmore v. Hercules SLR Inc., 2017 ONCA 280.

What This Means For You

• A new job offer does not automatically settle your severance. The actual terms matter, including whether accepting would affect your right to pursue more compensation.
• Check the full impact of a pay cut. A temporary salary guarantee can hide a significant long-term reduction. Learn more about pay cuts in Ontario.
• Get advice before accepting or rejecting a demotion. Refusing suitable work can affect a severance claim. Our team can review a proposed demotion and explain your options.

A Lesson For Employers

A lower-paid job offer is not an automatic answer to a severance claim. If you expect an employee to return to work while pursuing that claim, the offer needs to clearly protect their ability to do so.

Related client win: Dental hygienist awarded 24 months’ pay after proposed contracts put her income and job protections at risk.

Offered A Pay Cut Instead Of Severance?

Before accepting a lower-paid role or signing away your rights, find out what you could be owed. Your severance could be as much as 24 months’ pay.

Our Ontario employment lawyers, including our Toronto team, can review the offer and help you decide what to do next.

Before you sign, always check first. Contact Samfiru Tumarkin LLP to discuss your situation.