Wrongful dismissal in Canada occurs when a non-unionized employee is fired without receiving the notice or compensation the law requires, or when an employer claims just cause without meeting the legal standard for cause.
A firing does not become wrongful simply because it feels unfair or happens without warning. In most Canadian workplaces, an employer can end employment without cause — but if it does, it must provide the employee with proper notice or compensation instead of notice. For many employees, that amount is substantially greater than the minimum required by employment standards legislation.
If you have been fired, don’t assume your employer’s first severance offer represents everything you are owed. Before you sign a severance agreement or release, have your employment contract, termination letter and compensation package reviewed.
On This Page:
- 1. What Wrongful Dismissal Means
- 2. Signs You Were Wrongfully Dismissed
- 3. Wrongful Dismissal Compensation
- 4. Cause, Constructive Dismissal & Illegal Terminations
- 5. Provincial & Federal Rules
- 6. What to Do After a Wrongful Dismissal
What Does Wrongful Dismissal Mean in Canada?
Wrongful dismissal means your employer ended your employment without giving you the notice or termination compensation you were legally entitled to receive.
The key issue is usually not whether your employer had a good business reason to let you go. A non-unionized employee can usually be terminated without cause because of restructuring, cost cutting, a change in direction, a personality conflict or simply because the employer no longer wants to continue the employment relationship.
What the employer can’t do is terminate you without cause and then ignore its obligation to provide proper notice or compensation.
Wrongful dismissal can also happen when an employer says you were fired “for cause” and pays little or nothing, but the alleged misconduct is not serious enough to justify termination without notice.
Is wrongful dismissal the same as an unfair firing?
No. A dismissal can feel unfair without being a wrongful dismissal.
For example, an employer does not normally have to prove that you deserved to lose your job before terminating you without cause. The legal question is whether the employer respected your contractual, statutory and common-law rights when ending your employment.
Other problems — including discrimination, retaliation or punishment for exercising a protected workplace right — can create separate legal claims even when the employee has also been wrongfully dismissed.
How Do You Know If You Were Wrongfully Dismissed?
You may have been wrongfully dismissed if your employer fired you but failed to provide the full notice or compensation required by law.
Common warning signs include:
- You were fired without cause and offered only a few weeks of pay despite having significant service.
- Your employer says employment standards legislation determines everything you are owed.
- You were given a severance package but your bonus, commissions, benefits or other regular compensation were ignored.
- Your employer relies on a termination clause in your employment contract to substantially reduce your severance.
- You were fired “for cause” and offered no severance even though the alleged misconduct was not serious enough to justify that result.
- Your employer made a major unwanted change to your pay, duties, hours, location or other fundamental employment terms and expected you to accept it.
The amount printed in a termination letter does not determine your legal entitlement. Neither does an employer’s internal severance policy.
The first question after a termination should be: What am I actually owed?
How Much Compensation Can You Get for Wrongful Dismissal?
Wrongful dismissal compensation is intended to put you in the financial position you would have been in if your employer had provided the proper notice of termination.
Employment standards legislation establishes minimum termination rights. Those minimums are important, but they are not necessarily your full entitlement.
Many non-unionized employees also have greater rights under common law unless an enforceable employment contract validly limits those rights. Learn more in our national guide to severance pay in Canada.
What determines your severance?
There is no automatic “one week per year of service” formula for full common-law severance.
Important factors include:
- Your age
- Your length of service
- Your position and level of responsibility
- The availability of comparable employment
- Your employment contract
- Your complete compensation package, including applicable bonuses, commissions and benefits
Don’t compare your offer only to the minimum required by employment standards legislation. An offer can satisfy the statutory minimum and still leave a significant common-law entitlement unpaid.
Do you have to look for another job?
Yes. If you are pursuing common-law wrongful dismissal damages, you are expected to make reasonable efforts to find comparable employment.
This is called the duty to mitigate. Keep records of applications, recruiter conversations, interviews and other job-search activity. New employment income earned during the applicable notice period can affect the damages ultimately owed by your former employer.
Wrongful Dismissal, Just Cause & Constructive Dismissal
Wrongful dismissal can arise from an inadequate severance package, an invalid allegation of just cause or a constructive dismissal.
What if your employer says you were fired for cause?
Being told you were fired “for cause” does not make the allegation legally valid.
Just cause is a serious legal finding because an employer is attempting to end the employment relationship without the normal notice or compensation that would otherwise be owed. Not every workplace mistake, disagreement, performance concern or act of misconduct meets that standard.
If your employer can’t establish just cause, you can pursue the termination compensation that should have been provided when your employment ended.
Can you be wrongfully dismissed without being formally fired?
Yes. A serious unilateral change to your employment can amount to constructive dismissal even if your employer never says that you are fired.
A major pay cut, demotion, significant reduction in duties, forced relocation or other fundamental change can allow an employee to treat the employment relationship as having been terminated and pursue severance.
Read our complete guide to constructive dismissal in Canada.
What if the reason for your firing was illegal?
An illegal or discriminatory reason for termination can create rights beyond an ordinary wrongful dismissal claim.
For example, a termination connected to disability, pregnancy, family status, race, religion, age or another protected characteristic can raise human rights issues. Retaliation for exercising certain statutory workplace rights can also trigger separate remedies.
Those claims are legally distinct from the question of whether you received enough termination compensation, although both issues can arise from the same firing.
Does Wrongful Dismissal Law Differ by Province?
Yes. The basic common-law principles are similar across Canada’s common-law provinces, but employment standards, limitation periods and other workplace rules differ by jurisdiction.
For province-specific guidance, see:
Samfiru Tumarkin LLP represents non-unionized employees throughout Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.
What if you work for a federally regulated employer?
Federally regulated employees can have additional dismissal protections under the Canada Labour Code.
Certain eligible non-unionized, non-managerial employees with at least 12 consecutive months of service can challenge an unjust dismissal. This remedy is different from an ordinary wrongful dismissal claim and can include remedies such as reinstatement.
The deadline is also much shorter: an eligible unjust dismissal complaint normally must be filed within 90 days of dismissal.
If you work in banking, telecommunications, broadcasting, airlines, railways, interprovincial transportation or another federally regulated industry, read our guide to employment law for federally regulated employees immediately.
What Should You Do After a Wrongful Dismissal?
If you think you were wrongfully dismissed, protect your rights before you sign anything or agree that your employer’s calculation is correct.
Take these steps:
- Keep your termination documents. Save your termination letter, severance offer, employment contract, bonus plans, commission agreements and recent pay records.
- Don’t sign a release yet. Once signed, a release normally prevents you from pursuing additional severance.
- Don’t accept a cause allegation without reviewing it. Your employer must be able to justify denying the compensation you would otherwise receive.
- Start looking for comparable work. Keep a written record of your job-search efforts.
- Determine which law applies to you. Provincial rules and federally regulated employment can produce different rights and deadlines.
- Have your severance calculated properly. Compare the employer’s offer with your full legal entitlement, not simply the statutory minimum.
The process doesn’t need to be overwhelming. In many wrongful dismissal cases, the central issue is simply determining the compensation the employee should have received and pursuing the unpaid difference.
Wrongful Dismissal Canada FAQs
Can my employer fire me for no reason in Canada?
For most provincially regulated non-unionized employees, yes — an employer can terminate employment without cause if it provides the required notice or compensation and does not terminate the employee for an illegal reason.
Federally regulated employees can have additional unjust-dismissal protections, so the answer can be different if the Canada Labour Code applies to your workplace.
Can you sue for wrongful dismissal in Canada?
Yes. A wrongfully dismissed employee can pursue compensation for the notice and other amounts the employer should have provided.
Many claims are resolved through negotiation without a trial. The correct process and deadline depend on your province, employment contract and whether your workplace is federally regulated.
Is wrongful dismissal the same as wrongful termination?
Yes. Employees often use “wrongful termination” and “wrongful dismissal” to describe the same basic problem: employment was ended without respecting the employee’s legal termination rights.
“Wrongful dismissal” is the term more commonly used in Canadian employment law.
Do you get more severance if you are wrongfully dismissed?
A wrongful dismissal claim allows you to pursue the termination compensation that should have been provided in the first place.
The claim does not automatically create a bonus or penalty simply because the dismissal was wrongful. However, separate additional damages can arise if an employer breaches other legal duties in the way it handles the termination.
Should you accept your employer’s first severance offer?
Not before you know what you are legally owed.
An employer’s first offer can be substantially below a non-unionized employee’s common-law entitlement. You can negotiate a severance offer, but you should first determine the value of your claim and understand anything you are being asked to release.
Get Help With a Wrongful Dismissal
If you have been fired and your severance package looks too low, your employer says you were terminated for cause, or you are being pressured to sign a release, speak with an employment lawyer before giving up your rights.
Samfiru Tumarkin LLP’s employment lawyers help non-unionized employees determine whether they were wrongfully dismissed, calculate the compensation they are owed and pursue an improved severance package.
For local wrongful dismissal assistance, you can also learn more about our wrongful dismissal lawyers in Toronto, wrongful dismissal lawyers in Calgary and wrongful dismissal lawyers in Vancouver.