Lior Samfiru with Daily Commercial News talks severance for construction employees

For many years construction employees in Ontario struggled with determining what they were owed upon termination. There are many misconceptions surrounding severance pay, as well as adequate overtime pay, misclassifications and other employment rights.

In order to offer helpful insights for employees, Samfiru Tumarkin LLP created the Pocket Employment Lawyer.

Lior Samfiru, an employment lawyer and co-founding Partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP spoke to Daily Commercial News on the tool and what it provides for employees searching for answers.

“With respect to construction, I think the point has to be made that oftentimes there’s this misconception that somehow when it comes to employment law, it’s the Wild West for construction employees, that the laws somehow don’t apply or don’t apply in the same way to people in that industry,” Samfiru explains.

Samfiru states that construction employees can seek advice and protections from the Ministry of Labour for some workplace disputes, but not severance entitlements.

“I can tell you that every single day, every single week, every single year, hundreds of people in that industry lose their jobs, don’t get paid anything, and they assume that that’s just the way it is. That is so clearly incorrect…our courts over the past 160 years have established the rules and the parameters as to how to calculate severance and what someone is owed in that situation.”

LEARN MORE:
• Construction worker awarded severance pay
• Severance pay for construction workers in Ontario
• Constructions workers in Canada and severance packages

Samfiru explains that the Pocket Employment Lawyer has allowed construction workers to determine a more accurate picture of what they are owed through the severance pay calculator, along with other features.

“The other tools found at Pocket Employment Lawyer offer advice on long-term disability and termination for cause,” Samfiru states.

Samfiru says that the Pocket Employment Lawyer was created due to “the “dark hole” of misconceptions about employment law across Canada”.

The tool can offer employees an initial introduction to their rights before they seek legal advice from an employment lawyer.