Hamilton Health Sciences: Severance Packages

Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) in a hospital network in southwestern Ontario comprised of seven hospitals and a cancer centre. It provides specialized care, including cardiac, stroke, cancer, palliative care, and pediatrics, and is notable for its comprehensive care from pre-birth to end-of-life.

The hospitals within the network are Hamilton General, McMaster University Medical Centre, McMaster Children’s Hospital, Juravinski Hospital (and Cancer Centre), St. Peter’s Hospital, West Lincoln Memorial, Main Street West Urgent Care Centre, Ron Joyce Children’s Health Centre, Regional Rehabilitation Centre, and David Braley Research Institute.

HHS is a significant employer with over 15,000 staff members, physicians, researchers, and volunteers. The organization offers a wide variety of job opportunities, reflecting the diverse range of its healthcare and research services. Current job postings indicate openings for roles such as registered nurses in various units, perfusionists, respiratory therapists, X-ray technologists, rehabilitation specialists, and executive positions like President and CEO, and Chief Technology Officer.

The origins of HHS dates back to 1848 when Hamilton General Hospital opened. The HHS corporation itself was formed in 1996 when a bulk of its current hospitals merged together, creating one of the largest teaching hospitals in Ontario.

Recent layoffs at HHS

• January 2010: HHS is cutting 130 jobs, including 40 nurses, after trimming $17 million from its budget due to an anticipated shortfall in government funding.
• January 2022: HHS fires 178 workers as part of mandatory staff vaccination policy.
• August 2023: Eight HHS employees have been fired for medical record snooping.

Severance for Hamilton Health Sciences employees

In Canada, non-unionized employees at Hamilton Health Sciences may get up to 24 months of severance pay when they are fired or laid off from their job. This applies to individuals working in any capacity—full-time, part-time, or hourly—in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. Contractors may also be entitled to severance pay due to employee misclassification.

Severance is the compensation provided to non-unionized workers in Canada by their employer when they are terminated without cause.

Even if an employee is fired for cause, they may still be eligible for full severance pay. This is due to the high standards required to legally justify for-cause dismissal.

LEARN MORE
• Severance for provincially regulated employees
• Severance packages in mass layoffs
• How severance pay works by company
• Severance for federally regulated employees

The right to severance pay is consistent regardless of economic conditions, company downsizing, business closures, or significant public health events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains everything you need to know about severance pay on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

The employment lawyers at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP have represented tens of thousands of employees over the years in severance package negotiations.

We have successfully secured much larger amounts for individuals employed across a variety of positions, from entry level jobs to executives.

How to properly calculate severance pay

There is a general belief that severance is one week’s pay, two weeks’ pay, or a week for every year of service an employee has with a company.

The reality is that severance for non-unionized employees in Canada is calculated using a variety of factors, including age, length of service, position, bonuses, benefits, and your ability to find new work.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
• Severance Pay in Ontario
• Alberta severance packages
• Understanding severance in B.C.
• Layoffs in Canada

Before accepting a severance offer, double-check the amount using our firm’s free Severance Pay Calculator. It has helped millions of Canadians determine their entitlements.

If your employer’s offer falls short of what our Severance Pay Calculator says you are owed, it’s very likely that you have been wrongfully dismissed and should contact an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.

Don’t sign on the dotted line!

Do not accept any severance offer, termination papers, or exit agreement that you receive. Once you sign back these documents, you eliminate your ability to negotiate additional severance pay.

Non-unionized employees in Canada have up to two years from the date of their dismissal to pursue proper severance pay. An employer’s deadline to sign back a severance offer is not legally enforceable or binding.

Generally speaking, if an employee does not receive the proper amount of severance pay when they lose their job, they may be considered to have been wrongfully dismissed. An employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP can analyze your situation and explain how much compensation you may be owed.

Talk to an employment lawyer

The experienced employment law team at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP has helped tens of thousands of non-unionized individuals across the country. In addition to severance package negotiations, our team has experience securing solutions for the following employment matters:

Our lawyers in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C. stand ready to help you solve your workplace issues.

If you are a non-unionized employee who needs help with an employment issue, contact us or call 1-855-821-5900 to get the advice you need, and the compensation you deserve.

Disclaimer: The materials above are provided as general information about the rights of non-unionized employees in Canada. It is not specific to any one company and should not be read as suggesting any improper conduct on the part of any specific employer, or a relationship between Samfiru Tumarkin LLP and a specific employer.