Thermo Fisher Scientific: Severance Packages

Thermo Fisher Scientific is a prominent multinational corporation specializing in the provision of scientific instrumentation, reagents, software, and services to healthcare, life science, and other laboratories. The company was founded in 2006 through the merger of Thermo Electron and Fisher Scientific and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.

In Canada, Thermo Fisher maintains its headquarters in Mississauga, and operates several facilities including offices and distribution centres. While specific employee numbers for Canada are not publicly disclosed, Thermo Fisher employs approximately 130,000 people globally.

The range of job roles at Thermo Fisher Scientific is diverse, and includes laboratory technicians, sales and marketing professionals, research scientists, supply chain experts, and various administrative and managerial roles.

Recent layoffs at Thermo Fisher

• April 2024: The biotechnology company is laying off 74 at a California plasmid manufacturing site.

Severance pay for Thermo Fisher employees

In Canada, non-unionized employees at Thermo Fisher can 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 a for-cause dismissal.

LEARN MORE
• Severance for provincially regulated employees
• Severance packages in mass layoffs
• Tech industry severance packages

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.

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 you receive. Once you sign back these documents, you eliminate your ability to negotiate additional severance pay.

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.