If your employer tells you that you are being terminated and then changes its mind, that does not automatically erase the termination or your legal rights.
An employer can ask you to stay or return to work. Whether you should accept that offer — and whether refusing it can affect your severance — depends on what happened before and after the termination.
Do not resign, reject the offer or sign anything before getting legal advice. How you respond can affect the compensation you are entitled to receive.
On This Page:
- 1. Can an Employer Revoke a Termination?
- 2. Can a Termination Be Reversed?
- 3. Fired Effective Immediately
- 4. Working Notice
- 5. Do You Have to Take Your Job Back?
- 6. What Happens to Severance?
- 7. Different Job or Lower Pay
- 8. What You Should Do
- 9. FAQs
Can an Employer Revoke a Termination?
An employer can tell you that it wants your employment to continue, but it can’t always treat the original termination as though it never happened.
What happens next depends on the stage of the termination.
There is an important difference between:
- Being told that your employment will end on a future date
- Being terminated immediately
- Being offered your job back after your employment has already ended
- Being offered continued employment on different terms
Those situations can have different consequences for your notice, severance and obligation to look for other work.
Can a Termination Be Reversed?
Yes. An employer and employee can agree to continue the employment relationship after a termination has been announced.
However, do not assume that everything automatically goes back to the way it was before.
Before agreeing to continue or return to work, confirm:
- Your original start date
- Your seniority
- Your salary and other compensation
- Your vacation entitlement
- Your pension or retirement benefits
- Your health and disability benefits
- your position, duties and responsibilities
Get the terms in writing.
You do not want an agreement to return to work to unintentionally reset your service date or reduce rights that you built up over years of employment.
What If You Were Fired Effective Immediately?
If your employer terminated your employment effective immediately and later asks you to return, it is asking you to resume the employment relationship.
You do not automatically have to agree.
However, you should also not reject the offer immediately.
Employees who have been terminated generally have a duty to take reasonable steps to reduce their financial losses. This is known as the duty to mitigate.
An offer to return to the same employer can be relevant to that obligation.
Whether it is reasonable for you to return can depend on factors such as:
- Wwhether the same job is being offered
- Whether your pay and benefits remain unchanged
- Whether your seniority will continue
- How the employer handled the termination
- Whether the relationship has seriously broken down
- Whether returning would expose you to an abusive or intolerable workplace
What If You Were Given Working Notice?
Working notice means your employer tells you that your employment will end on a future date but requires you to continue working until then.
For example, your employer might tell you in September that your final day will be December 31.
You remain employed during that notice period and continue receiving your regular pay and benefits.
Learn more about working notice in Canada.
Can the employer withdraw working notice?
An employer can tell you before the end date that it wants your employment to continue.
That does not mean you should assume you can leave on the original termination date and demand severance instead.
Because you are still employed during working notice, the legal effect can be different from a situation where your employment has already ended.
Get advice before deciding to leave.
Do You Have to Take Your Job Back?
Not necessarily. But refusing to return can affect your severance claim.
The question is whether returning to the employer would be reasonable in the circumstances.
An employee is not necessarily expected to return to a workplace where the employment relationship has become hostile, humiliating or intolerable.
At the same time, discomfort or disappointment with the employer does not automatically justify rejecting the offer.
What if you no longer trust your employer?
Being told that your job is ending can seriously damage your relationship with your employer.
You may have already:
- Started looking for another job
- Told coworkers or clients that you were leaving
- Made financial plans based on losing your income
- Lost confidence that your employer genuinely wants you to stay
Those factors can matter, but they should be assessed before you refuse the offer.
Can You Still Get Severance If Your Employer Wants You Back?
You can still have severance rights, but an offer to continue or resume your employment can affect the amount ultimately owed.
When an employer terminates a non-unionized employee without cause, the employee is entitled to proper notice or compensation instead of notice.
For many employees, full severance pay can be substantially greater than the minimum amount required by employment standards legislation. It can often reach as much as 24 months’ pay.
Your entitlement can depend on factors such as:
- Your age
- Your length of service
- Your position
- Your compensation
- Your employment contract
- The availability of comparable employment
An offer from your former employer to bring you back can then become relevant to your duty to mitigate.
What If Your Employer Offers You a Different Job or Lower Pay?
An employer cannot necessarily avoid a termination by telling you to return under substantially worse terms.
Pay attention to changes such as:
- A significant salary reduction
- A demotion
- Reduced hours
- Loss of bonus or commission
- Substantially different duties
- Loss of benefits
- A major change in work location
A significant unilateral change to an essential term of your job can amount to constructive dismissal.
Do not resign because of the change before getting legal advice. Resigning too quickly can make it harder to establish constructive dismissal.
What if the employer treats you as a new employee?
Be especially careful if your employer says you can return but wants to restart your employment from day one.
Losing your previous service can affect future severance, vacation, pension rights and other employment entitlements.
Have the proposed terms reviewed before agreeing.
What If You Already Found Another Job?
If you accepted another job after being terminated and your former employer then tries to reverse the decision, the timing matters.
Do not abandon the new opportunity or make a commitment to return until you understand the effect on your legal rights.
Income from a new job can also reduce the damages recoverable through a wrongful dismissal claim.
That does not mean you should avoid looking for work. Employees seeking common-law damages are expected to make reasonable efforts to find suitable replacement employment.
Can Your Employer Change Your Termination Date?
An employer can change its plans while you are still employed, but changing a termination date can affect your rights.
If your employer moves, extends or withdraws your termination date, ask for the change in writing.
Do not rely only on a verbal statement that the termination has been cancelled, particularly if you already have a termination letter confirming an end date.
Keep both the original termination documents and any later correspondence.
What Should You Do If Your Employer Cancels Your Termination?
Do not make a quick decision simply because your employer has changed its mind.
Take these steps:
- Ask for everything in writing. Confirm whether the termination has been withdrawn and what employment terms are being offered.
- Keep your original termination letter. Do not throw away documents because the employer says the termination is cancelled.
- Check your employment terms. Confirm your salary, position, benefits, seniority and original hire date.
- Do not resign. A resignation can significantly affect your termination and severance rights.
- Do not immediately reject the offer. Refusing continued employment can affect your duty to mitigate.
- Do not sign a release. A release can prevent you from pursuing additional compensation.
- Get legal advice. Have the original termination and the employer’s new offer reviewed together.
Can an Employer Revoke a Termination? Frequently Asked Questions
Can my employer cancel my termination?
Your employer can tell you that it wants your employment to continue, but that does not automatically erase the legal effect of the original termination. What happens next depends on whether your employment has already ended, whether you are working through notice and what terms are being offered.
Can a termination be reversed?
Yes. An employer and employee can agree that the employment relationship will continue. Confirm your salary, benefits, seniority and other terms before agreeing to stay or return.
Can an employer withdraw a termination notice?
An employer can attempt to withdraw a termination notice before the end date. The effect on your rights depends in part on whether you remain employed under working notice and what has happened since the notice was issued.
Do I have to go back if my employer offers me my job?
Not automatically. However, refusing a reasonable offer to return can affect your severance because employees have a duty to take reasonable steps to reduce their losses.
Can I still get severance if my employer wants me back?
Yes, you can still have severance rights. However, the employer’s offer to continue or restore your employment can affect the compensation you ultimately recover.
Can my employer bring me back at a lower salary?
Your employer can propose different terms, but you do not automatically have to accept a substantial reduction in salary or another fundamental change. Major unilateral changes can amount to constructive dismissal.
What happens to my seniority if I return?
Make sure your employer confirms in writing that your original service date and seniority will continue. Your vacation, benefits, pension and future severance rights can depend on preserving your previous service.
Can I refuse to return because I no longer trust my employer?
Loss of trust can be relevant, but it does not automatically justify refusing to return. The circumstances surrounding the termination, the employer’s conduct and the terms of the proposed return all matter.
What if I am unionized?
Termination and reinstatement disputes involving unionized employees are normally handled through the union and grievance process. Our employment law team assists non-unionized employees.
Get Advice Before Responding to Your Employer
If your employer terminated you and then changed its mind, what you do next can affect your severance rights.
Samfiru Tumarkin LLP helps non-unionized employees in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia understand their termination rights, assess return-to-work offers and determine what compensation they are owed.
Before agreeing to return, rejecting the offer or signing a severance package, have the situation reviewed.