Severance for Apotex employees

Apotex Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. is a Canadian multinational pharmaceutical company that is focused on improving access to medicine for millions of patients around the world.

Founded in 1974 by billionaire Barry Sherman, the generic drug maker employs a global workforce of nearly 8,000 people.

Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Apotex has operations in more than 45 countries, with a significant presence in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and India.

The company claims on its website that it exports to more than 100 countries and territories.

Severance pay for Apotex employees

In Canada, employees at Apotex can get up to 24 months of severance pay when they are fired or laid off from their job. This includes individuals working full-time, part-time, and hourly in Ontario, Alberta, or B.C.

Severance is the compensation a non-unionized worker receives from their employer when they are fired without cause. If you are fired for cause, you are likely still entitled to full severance.

LEARN MORE
• Severance packages in mass layoffs
• Severance pay for provincially regulated employees

Regardless of a company’s grasp on employment law, they are legally required to provide proper compensation following a termination.

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

All non-unionized Canadian employees at Apotex are entitled to severance pay during the COVID-19 pandemic if they are terminated or let go from their job.

A company doesn’t have the option of “suspending” their legal obligations due to the coronavirus outbreak.

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

The employment lawyers at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP have represented numerous employees in the pharmaceutical industry 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

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

While this formula may cover the minimum amount owed by a company as per provincial legislation, our legal system (common law) has determined that a full severance package should be higher – as much as 24 months’ pay.

LEARN MORE
• Layoffs in Canada
• Severance pay during a recession

For non-unionized employees, the main factors of termination or severance pay include age, length of service, position, bonuses, benefits, and the ability to find new work.

Use our helpful Severance Pay Calculator to determine your severance entitlements.

Rights to severance when an employer sells the business

On September 28, 2022, SK Capital Partners LP, a New York-based private investment firm, announced that it was purchasing Apotex.

If an employer in Canada sells their business, non-unionized employees who lose their job as a result of the sale are owed full severance pay.

It’s the responsibility of the seller of the business to provide proper compensation to affected staff.

LEARN MORE
• Sale of business in Ontario: Rights to severance
• Rights to severance in Alberta when your employer sells the business
• Employer sold the business in B.C.? Know your rights to severance

Don’t sign on the dotted line!

Do not accept any severance offer, termination papers, or exit agreement that Apotex may provide you with.

Once you sign back these documents, you eliminate your ability to negotiate a fair and proper severance package.

Wrongfully dismissed from Apotex?

If you have lost your job at Apotex, there is a chance that you have been wrongfully dismissed.

A wrongful dismissal in Canada happens when you are fired or permanently laid off by your employer, but not given a proper severance package.

What you should receive is based on many factors. An employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP can analyze your situation and explain how much compensation you may be owed.

Changes to your job

In Canada, non-unionized employees at Apotex don’t have to accept major changes to their job.

Large modifications such as a demotion, cut in pay, reduction in hours, or negative change to commission are illegal.

When the terms of your employment are significantly changed, the law allows you to resign from your job and seek full severance pay through a constructive dismissal claim.

LEARN MORE
• Changes to your employment in Ontario
• B.C. employees and changes to your job
• Can your employer change your job in Alberta

Temporary layoffs

Temporary layoffs occur when an employer significantly reduces or completely stops an employee’s employment. There is usually a mutual understanding from both sides that the employee will be called back to work, to the same position, after a reasonable period of time.

It’s important for non-unionized employees at Apotex to understand that temporary layoffs are considered illegal, unless you agree to the layoff or it’s addressed in your employment contract.

You have the option to wait to be called back, or can treat this as a termination through a constructive dismissal and pursue severance.

Harassment

In Canada, non-unionized employees at Apotex don’t have to tolerate harassment in the workplace, either from coworkers or managers.

The generic drug maker, like any employer, has a duty to investigate and respond appropriately to allegations of harassment and abuse.

If your company is creating, or allows for the creation of, a hostile or toxic work environment, this can be grounds for a constructive dismissal.

Contact an employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin today to explore your rights.

Independent contractor? Think again

If you were hired by Apotex as an independent contractor, there is a significant chance that you should actually be considered an employee.

Employers in Canada may misclassify employees as contractors to avoid acknowledging certain employment rights, like minimum wage, vacation and overtime pay, and severance when the individual is fired.

An employer can’t avoid the issue by having their worker sign an employment contract, which indicates that they are a contractor rather than an employee.

Our legal system provides guidelines for determining whether someone is a contractor or employee.

Use Samfiru Tumarkin LLP’s Pocket Employment Lawyer to find out what you are right now.

Fired for medical reasons

If your medical condition was in any way a factor in your employer’s decision to fire you while you are on leave, you may be able to file a human rights claim. Your employer can’t let you go due to medical issues or a disability.

If an employee is terminated without cause for reasons unrelated to their medical leave or disability, this is legally permissible, as long as the employer provides them with proper severance pay.

An employer may also legally terminate their worker while on medical leave if the employee is:

• Terminated for reasons which sufficiently establish just cause
• The employee’s employment contract has been frustrated

Employment lawyers for Apotex employees

Our employment lawyers have helped tens of thousands of individuals across Ontario, Alberta, and B.C. enforce their rights. With employment lawyers in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, and Vancouver, we stand ready to help you solve your workplace issues.

If you are a non-unionized employee at Apotex 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 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.