Yes. You can be fired for poor performance in Canada, but poor performance does not automatically give your employer just cause to fire you without severance.
An employer can end a non-unionized employee’s employment without cause if it provides the proper notice or compensation. To deny common-law notice or severance because of poor performance, however, the employer has a much harder case to prove.
If you were fired after a bad review, missed target or failed performance improvement plan (PIP), don’t accept that you are owed nothing. Have the cause allegation and severance package reviewed before signing a release.
On This Page:
- 1. Can You Be Fired for Poor Performance?
- 2. When Is Poor Performance Just Cause?
- 3. Do You Need Warnings First?
- 4. PIPs & Performance Reviews
- 5. Disability & Performance Problems
- 6. Severance & What to Do Next
Can You Be Fired for Poor Performance?
Yes. Your employer can terminate you because it is unhappy with your performance, even if your performance was not bad enough to justify termination for cause.
The key difference is whether the dismissal is with cause or without cause.
- Without cause: Your employer does not have to prove serious wrongdoing, but it must provide the notice or compensation you are legally owed.
- For cause: Your employer claims your performance problems were serious enough to end your employment without common-law notice or severance.
Most ordinary performance problems do not automatically meet the much higher standard required for termination for cause.
Can you be fired for not meeting targets?
Yes, but missing sales, productivity or other workplace targets does not automatically give your employer cause to deny severance.
Targets should be clear and reasonable. Your employer should also consider whether factors outside your control affected your results.
For example, declining sales across an entire business are different from one employee repeatedly failing reasonable expectations despite support and warnings.
When Is Poor Performance Just Cause for Termination?
Poor performance can become just cause when the problems are serious, ongoing and continue after the employee clearly understands what must improve and has been given a real opportunity to improve.
Important questions include whether:
- The required performance standard was clear
- The standard was reasonable for the job
- You knew how your performance was falling short
- You were clearly warned that your job was at risk
- You were given enough time to improve
- The employer provided reasonable training, information or support
- Your performance was assessed fairly
- Serious problems continued despite those steps
An employer that skips these steps can have difficulty establishing cause based on ongoing poor performance.
Are mistakes at work just cause?
Ordinary mistakes are not automatically just cause.
Employees make mistakes. One error, missed deadline or bad result normally has to be assessed in context.
The situation becomes more serious when mistakes are repeated, important, clearly within the employee’s control and continue after specific warnings and a meaningful opportunity to correct the problem.
Can incompetence be just cause?
Yes, but an employer relying on incompetence faces a high legal standard.
It is not enough for a manager to simply believe another employee could do the job better.
Where an employer relies on ongoing incompetence, it should be able to identify the required standard, show how the employee failed to meet it and demonstrate that the employee was properly warned and given a real chance to improve.
Does Your Employer Have to Warn You Before Firing You for Poor Performance?
Your employer does not need to give warnings before every termination, but warnings are very important if it wants to rely on ongoing poor performance as just cause.
An employer can terminate you without cause and pay the required compensation without first giving you several warnings.
But if it wants to say that your poor performance became serious enough to justify firing you without common-law notice or severance, you should normally have understood:
- What you were doing wrong
- What standard you needed to meet
- What you needed to do differently
- That your employment was at risk if you did not improve
You also need a meaningful opportunity to respond to the warning and improve your performance.
How many warnings do you need?
There is no fixed number of warnings required in every case.
The number depends on the seriousness of the performance problem, your position, your history and whether there was a realistic opportunity to correct the issue.
What matters more than counting warnings is whether the employer clearly communicated the problem and gave you a fair chance to improve.
What if you disagree with a warning?
Don’t ignore an inaccurate performance warning. Respond professionally in writing and correct the important facts.
Keep supporting records such as:
- Previous positive performance reviews
- Emails praising your work
- Sales or productivity records
- Documents showing targets were changed
- Requests for training or assistance
What If You Were Fired After a PIP or Bad Performance Review?
A failed PIP or bad performance review does not automatically prove just cause.
A performance improvement plan can help an employer document what it says went wrong, what it expected and whether you improved.
But the plan itself does not prove that:
- The criticisms were accurate
- The targets were reasonable
- You received enough support
- You were given enough time to improve
- Your performance justified termination for cause
If you are currently on a PIP and have not yet been fired, read our complete guide to performance improvement plans in Canada.
Can you be fired right after a bad performance review?
Yes. Your employer can terminate you without cause after a bad review if it provides proper termination compensation.
If it wants to deny severance based on poor performance, the review is only part of the evidence. The employer still has to establish the legal standard for cause.
What If a Disability Affected Your Performance?
Your employer can’t properly treat disability-related performance problems as an ordinary performance issue without considering its duty to accommodate.
A physical or mental health condition can affect:
- Concentration
- Memory
- Attendance
- Productivity
- Work speed
- Ability to perform particular duties
If disability is affecting your work, tell your employer that you need accommodation and provide reasonable medical information about your restrictions where required.
Your employer can have a duty to accommodate you to the point of undue hardship.
What if your employer knew about the medical problem?
If your employer knew—or reasonably should have understood—that a disability was affecting your performance, human rights obligations can become part of the termination analysis.
The employer should not simply discipline or fire you for disability-related limitations without properly addressing accommodation.
Do You Get Severance If You’re Fired for Poor Performance?
Yes, if you are terminated without cause or your employer cannot establish the legal standard needed to deny you common-law notice or severance.
A poor performance allegation does not automatically reduce your severance package.
Your full entitlement can depend on your employment contract and factors such as your:
- Age
- Position
- Length of service
- Availability of similar employment
If you are terminated, don’t sign a release before having your full severance package reviewed—you may be owed as much as 24 months’ pay.
Can poor performance termination be wrongful dismissal?
Yes. If your employer incorrectly claims cause and fails to provide the termination compensation you are owed, you can have a wrongful dismissal claim.
Being unhappy with your work does not give your employer the final word on whether you lose severance.
What should you do after being fired?
Keep the performance record and have the cause allegation and severance package reviewed before signing anything.
- Get the reason for termination in writing. Keep the termination letter and severance offer.
- Save your performance records. Keep reviews, PIPs, warnings, targets and positive feedback.
- Write down your response. Record important facts while you still remember them clearly.
- Keep evidence of support you requested. Save emails asking for training, resources or clarification.
- Document any medical issue. Keep accommodation requests and relevant medical information.
- Don’t sign a release. First calculate the full compensation you are owed.
Fired for Poor Performance FAQs
Can you be fired for poor performance without warning?
Yes, if the employer terminates you without cause and provides proper compensation. Warnings become especially important when the employer wants to rely on ongoing poor performance to deny common-law notice or severance.
Can you be fired for one mistake?
Yes, your employment can end after one mistake, but one ordinary mistake does not automatically create just cause. The seriousness of the error and the surrounding circumstances matter.
Can you get EI if you’re fired for poor performance?
Yes, poor performance does not automatically prevent you from receiving EI. Service Canada looks at whether the termination involved misconduct. Simply being unable to meet an employer’s performance expectations is different from deliberately engaging in misconduct.
Does a failed PIP mean you lose severance?
No. A failed PIP does not automatically remove your severance rights. If your employer can’t establish just cause, you can still be owed full termination compensation.
Can your employer give you a bad reference because of poor performance?
An employer should not knowingly provide false information about your work. If you are concerned about references after termination, ask what information the company plans to provide to future employers.
Get Help If You Were Fired for Poor Performance
A bad review, missed target or failed PIP does not automatically mean you lose your severance.
Samfiru Tumarkin LLP helps non-unionized employees challenge improper poor-performance and termination-for-cause allegations, assess unfair PIP and disciplinary records, pursue wrongful dismissal claims, and secure the full severance pay and compensation they are legally entitled to receive.
If you were fired for poor performance, keep your performance records and termination documents and get your severance package reviewed by one of our employment lawyers before signing a release.