Mountain Equipment Company: Severance Packages

MEC, short for Mountain Equipment Company, is a Canadian chain of retail stores specializing in outdoor recreation gear. The company was formed from the assets of the previously defunct retail co-operative, Mountain Equipment Co-op. In October 2020, these assets were acquired by the American private equity firm, Kingswood Capital Management, making them the current owners of MEC.

Services: MEC operates multiple retail stores across Canada, offering a wide range of outdoor products such as camping gear, hiking equipment, clothing, and accessories. They also have an e-commerce platform, providing customers with the option to purchase their products online.

Employees and Offices: MEC’s head office is located in Vancouver, B.C. The company employs roughly 2,500 people through 21 locations across Canada, including Alberta and Ontario.

Types of Jobs: MEC provides a numbers of different jobs and careers, including retail sales associates, customer service representatives, inventory management and logistics, marketing and communications associates, managers, and IT specialists.

Brief History: MEC was formed in 1971 in Vancouver as Mountain Equipment Co-op. The co-operative only sold to customers that had purchased a lifetime membership, or share, with the company. The business started with one single location catering solely to mountaineers and climbers, before expanding to 20 cities to target a broader and more urban clientele with more clothing and supplies. Following the COVID-19 pandemic and years of mounting financial losses, MEC sold its assets to Kingswood in September 2020. Kingswood then launched the current for-profit business in October 2020, eventually rebranding it to Mountain Equipment Company.

Recent layoffs at MEC

• February 2024: MEC is laying off staff as it restructures its business, Samfiru Tumarkin LLP has learned.
• Mid-2020: MEC is laying off hundreds of employees in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Severance pay for MEC employees

In Canada, non-unionized employees at MEC 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.