PwC laying off 5% of staff before bonus payouts

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC Canada) is allegedly laying off 5% of its staff, according to multiple reports by Going Concern.

PwC Canada told the accounting news website that they are “constantly looking at changes we can make to best meet the evolving needs of our clients and deliver differently” and that they “have adjusted our model and related staff complement.”

Sources told Going Concern that these layoffs followed a request by management that employees reduce their hours of work and pay by 80%, in order to avoid being laid off.

According to employees, the layoffs are being linked to poor work performance. One source suggests that terminations have occurred immediately before bonuses are to be paid to staff.

Severance agreements for PwC Canada employees

In Canada, non-unionized employees at PwC are owed full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing, corporate restructuring, or the closure of the business.

This includes individuals working full-time, part-time, or hourly in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C.

People working “on contract” or as a contractor may also be owed severance pay — given that many employees in Canada are often misclassified as independent contractors.

Severance can be as much as 24 months’ pay, depending on a number of factors, including any bonus payments an employee has earned through the employer.

LEARN MORE
• Rights to severance for federally regulated employees
• Severance entitlements during mass layoffs
• Severance packages in a recession

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains what rights employees have if they are being fired or let go on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

Before you accept any severance offer, have an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP review it and your employment contract.

We can tell you if what you have been provided is fair and how to get proper severance if it falls short of what you are actually owed.

If you don’t receive the full amount, which happens often, you have been wrongfully dismissed and are entitled to compensation.

In some cases, employers pressure staff into accepting poor severance packages, such as imposing a deadline for accepting the offer.

Non-unionized employees in Canada have up to two years from the date of their dismissal to pursue a claim for full severance pay.