Employment Law Show 580 CFRA – S2 E18

Summary

Severance for salespeople, bullied by a boss, returning from disability leave, temporary layoffs, probation periods and more on season 2 episode 14 of the Employment Law Show on Newstalk 580 CFRA in Ottawa.

Employment Lawyer Lior Samfiru, Partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, reveals your workplace rights in Ontario on the Employment Law Show. Lior shatters myths and misconceptions about severance pay, terminations without and for cause, workplace harassment, overtime pay, wrongful dismissal, constructive dismissal, duty to accommodate, independent contractors, temporary layoffs and more.

What We Covered

I was laid off after 14 years working as a salesperson and given a 7 month severance package. Is that enough severance pay?

3:58 – A commissioned salesperson worked for 14 years at a company that he believed he would eventually retire from. However, he was just informed that the company is restructuring, and he will be let go from his job. He contacted our employment law firm to find out if he was offered a fair severance package. His employer offered him 7 months of salary as his severance package. Lior explained why he was actually owed 15 months of total compensation, based on factors that include age, length of service, salary, commission, and benefits, among others.

Use the Severance Pay Calculator to discover the amount of severance pay you are owed upon termination.

I am being bullied by my manager. I asked HR for help but they haven’t done anything about it. What are my options?

6:58 – An individual was dealing with workplace harassment and bullying. Her manager was constantly putting her down and insulting her verbally. She contacted HR and asked them for assistance. HR claimed they would conduct a workplace investigation into the matter, but nothing came of it and the bullying continued. She eventually took a stress leave to escape the poisoned work environment.

Lior explained that every employee has a right to work somewhere free of harassment. When the workplace has become “poisoned” the employee can treat their employment as being constructively dismissed, resign from their job, and obtain full severance pay.

I didn’t do anything wrong. Can my employer terminate my employment?

11:14 – From a legal standpoint, your employer is allowed to let you go at any time and for any reason so long as proper severance is paid to you. It doesn’t matter if the company’s decision to let you go runs against ethics or morals. It all comes down to a severance package, and whether that severance amount is adequate. If the amount of severance provided is not acceptable under common law, you can sue for wrongful dismissal in Ontario.

What an employer cannot do is fire you for discriminatory reasons. You can’t legally be fired for various factors, including your age, your ethnicity or a disability you may have.

I have been let go. How much severance should I get?

13:35 – Severance pay is base on a number of factors, the biggest ones being age, length of service and your position. Those are the main pieces of information that are used to calculate severance pay. Termination pay (another word for severance pay) can also vary depending on whether or not you are a short service or long service employee. Quite often short service employees are treated disproportionately better than long service employees where severance is concerned, meaning that they are given larger severance packages than employees with more time at the company under their belt.

To find out how much severance pay you are owed, go to PocketEmploymentLawyer.ca.

I thought severance pay was 1 or 2 weeks’ pay per year. Is that true?

15:25 – The Employment Standards Act in Ontario outlines in detail the MINIMUM amount of severance pay in Ontario you should receive upon termination, if certain criteria are met. If you contact the Ministry of Labour for help following a termination, this is the guideline they will refer to when quoting the amount of severance you should receive. All employees have much greater entitlements owed to them under common law. The Ministry of Labour can only advise you as to your minimum severance entitlements.

Contact our employment lawyers in Ottawa BEFORE you seek help from the Ministry of Labour. Once you file a claim for severance through the Ministry, you cannot turn to one of our employment lawyers for help, as you forfeit that right.

What do I do if my employer doesn’t pay me enough severance?

16:52 – If you think your employer hasn’t provided you with a large enough severance package, you should contact us immediately for assistance. We can review the offer and determine if it is inadequate. If it is a fair package, we will tell you so. If it isn’t, you can choose to retain our services so that we may negotiate a better package on your behalf.

The severance offer says I must accept the offer by a certain deadline. Do I have to abide by that deadline?

17:52 – Severance offers usually come with a deadline. That deadline is usually set for a few days after the letter is issued. This fact immediately ratchets up the pressure, forcing you to make a decision under duress. Lior explained that a severance deadline is merely a pressure tactic employed by companies in an effort to force you to accept an unfair severance offer. Deadlines are meaningless. You in fact have a whole two years from the moment of termination to file a claim to obtain your full severance pay.

I was let go from my job without a reason over 2 years ago. Am I still entitled to a severance package?

20:34 – I was let go from my job without a warning or good explanation as to why. I had worked there for 3 years, and the termination happened more than 2 years ago. Am I still able to collect severance pay?

Lior told the caller to Newstalk 580 CFRA that she is unable to file a claim for full severance pay, given that she was let go from her job just over two years ago. There is a two year limitation period on severance pay claims. An employee may take legal action to get their termination pay within two years after the moment they are fired. There is nothing an individual or Ottawa employment lawyer can do beyond that two year limit.

My employer reduced my pay. Can they do that?

22:22 – Lior explained that an employer does not have a right to significantly make a change to the terms of employment, including reducing the amount of pay an employee expects to receive from the company. If the amount of pay is reduced without permission, the employee can choose not to accept the change and argue constructive dimissal. Lior also explains why it is important not to accept a change to your pay.

I am ready to return to work from a disability leave, but my employer is refusing to make accommodations. What are my rights?

25:02 – My wife had a stroke and has been on long term disability for just over two years now. She has a doctor’s note that says she can return to work on modified duties, but her employer is not accommodating her. They are trying to force her to take a full year off work without pay and undergo unpaid training. They told her that this approach doesn’t guarantee that they will take her back to her job. Her long term disability payments are ending in a few months.

Lior told the caller that her employer has a duty to accommodate her, especially if they are able to make accommodations in the workplace and even if it costs them financial to make the accommodation happen. He also pointed out that because the caller’s wife is unionized, an employment lawyer is not able to assist her because the only one that is allowed to assist her is her representative union.

My employer says that I am on a Temporary Layoff. What is it and what can I do?

28:49 – A temporary layoff, in theory, is a situation where the company doesn’t let you go from your job, but instead suspends your employment status with the hope that they can call you back to work. But for most people, a temporary layoff is in fact a termination of employment. If you are placed on a temporary layoff, and you haven’t either given the employer permission to do so or agreed to temporary layoffs in an employment contract, you can actually treat your job has being terminated, and you get a full severance package through one of our employment lawyers.

My employer is planning to change my work shift. Can they do that?

31:42 – I work in a technical support job 24 hours a day, seven days a week as per the employment contract I signed. I have just learned that I will now be moved to specific shifts, though I’m not sure what those shifts will be. Can they make that change? Lior explained why this change is a constructive dismissal.

I was terminated within the 3 month probation period. What are my rights when that happens?

35:09 – Lior told the caller that the employer is allowed to let you go within the 3 month probation period, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are allowed to let you go without full severance pay. If you have signed an employment contract that in fact states that they can let you go within a specific probation period and without severance pay, the employer can in fact do that. Otherwise, you would be owed severance.

Experiencing an Employment Issue?

Before you call a lawyer, use the Pocket Employment Lawyer to find out if you might have a case.

Use The Severance Pay Calculator to find out how much severance pay you may be owed upon termination.

Call 1-855-821-5900, email Help@EmploymentLawyer.ca or fill out a contact form to get help now from a Ottawa employment lawyer.

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