Royal Bank of Canada: Severance Packages
![royal-bank-of-canada-severance-package An assortment of currency from around the world. RBC employees are entitled to severance pay when they lose their job.](https://stlawyers.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/royal-bank-of-canada-severance-package-1200x625.jpg)
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is the country’s biggest bank and one of the largest in the world, based on market capitalization. With roots going back to 1864, RBC serves approximately 17 million clients in Canada, the U.S., and 27 other countries.
Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, the bank has offices in other major Canadian cities, including Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver. RBC claims on its website that it has more than 97,000 full-time and part-time employees working in the banking industry.
Recent layoffs at RBC
- November 2023: RBC’s Q4 2023 earnings release revealed that the bank cut more than 500 jobs in its capital markets division.
- September 2023: RBC is reportedly eliminating a number of positions within its capital markets division.
- August 2023: RBC is planning to reduce its number of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees by one to two per cent in Q4 2023.
- May 2023: RBC is eliminating approximately one per cent of its workforce — claiming that it’s overstaffed.
- April 2023: RBC is cutting more than a dozen jobs in its U.S. investment banking division after reviewing its business strategy.
- September 2022: RBC is reducing the size of its U.S. investment banking division by approximately one per cent.
- June 2017: RBC announced that it is eliminating approximately 450 jobs in order to meet the “evolving needs” of its clients.
Severance for RBC employees
In Canada, non-unionized employees at Royal Bank of Canada 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.
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
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, your employment contract, 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.