Snap: Severance Packages
Snap Inc. (Snap) is an American multinational camera and technology company that operates a number of platforms, including Snapchat, which are capable of visual communication and augmented reality.
Founded in 2011, the social media giant employs a global workforce of more than 6,000 people.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Snap has offices across North America and around the world, including Toronto, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, London, and Amsterdam.
According to the company’s website, more than 200 million users on Snapchat engage with its augmented reality experiences every day.
Recent layoffs at Snap
- February 2024: Snap is eliminating approximately 10 per cent of its workforce, or 500 jobs, to “reduce hierarchy and promote in-person collaboration.”
- August 2022: Snap is laying off approximately 1,300 employees, or 20 per cent of its workforce, as part of a company-wide restructuring. The social media giant did not disclose if staff members in Canada are affected by the cuts.
- February 2019: Snap laid off five employees as part of a restructuring of its research group. The cuts come after the company’s director of research, David Salesin, left in December 2018.
- March 2018: Snap laid off more than 200 workers as part of a restructuring that began in 2017. At the beginning of the month, the social media giant cut more than 120 engineers.
- October 2017: Snap cut 18 employees in its recruiting division after a dozen layoffs in the company’s hardware marketing division last month. The latest reductions equal less than one per cent of Snap’s workforce.
Severance pay for Snap employees
In Canada, non-unionized employees at Snap 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 in Canada receives from their employer when they are fired without cause.
Even if you are fired for cause, it’s very likely that you are still entitled to full severance pay because employees often don’t meet the conditions necessary for this type of dismissal.
LEARN MORE
• Severance for provincially regulated employees
• Severance packages in mass layoffs
Regardless of a company’s grasp on employment law, they are legally required to provide proper compensation following a termination.
This concept applies during challenging economic conditions, downsizing, the closure of a business, or major 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 numerous tech industry 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
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.
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.
If you work at Snap Canada, you are likely a provincially regulated employee. That means your severance package must consider:
- Your minimum severance pay as a provincially regulated employee, which is determined by each individual province.
- Your full severance pay according to our legal system (common law) which can be as much as 24 months’ pay.
To figure out how much compensation you may be entitled to, use our firm’s Pocket Employment Lawyer.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
• Severance Pay in Ontario
• Alberta severance packages
• Understanding severance in B.C.
• Layoffs in Canada
Don’t sign on the dotted line!
Do not accept any severance offer, termination papers, or exit agreement that Snap may provide you with.
Once you sign back these documents, you eliminate your ability to negotiate a fair and proper severance package.
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 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.
About the Author
Lior Samfiru
Lior Samfiru is a Founding Partner of Samfiru Tumarkin LLP and Practice Leader for the firm's Labour & Employment Law Group. His experience in countless successful cases and mediations on behalf of employees and employers, as well as his continued advocacy for the rights of workers, makes him one of the most skilled and sought-after labour and employment lawyers in Canada.
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