In Ontario, non-unionized employees can be fired for taking on a side gig – even if it doesn’t affect their main job.
This is known as a termination without cause. You can be let go for any reason, as long as you are provided full severance pay and the reasons for your dismissal aren’t discriminatory.
Unfortunately, many Ontarians are unaware of their rights to severance when they are fired or let go – putting them at risk of receiving less compensation than they are owed.
If you were terminated for taking on a side gig, here are four things you need to do.
1. Remain calm and professional
After learning that you are being let go, it can be extremely tempting to lash out at your employer. However, remaining calm is crucial.
Severance for non-unionized employees in Ontario can be as much as 24 months’ pay. Losing your temper or doing something to hurt the company could affect the amount of compensation you are legally entitled to.
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In some cases, employers try to get out of providing severance by claiming that they have grounds to fire staff for cause.
If this happened to you, contact an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.
We can determine if this type of dismissal was appropriate in your situation and help you secure proper compensation if it wasn’t.
2. Carefully review your severance offer
Contrary to popular belief, Ontarians don’t have to accept their employer’s severance offer immediately.
If you received a severance offer from your boss, hold off on signing anything until you speak with my firm. The company can’t force you to accept it before leaving a termination meeting or a few days after it was provided to you.
READ MORE: 5 things employees should never do before talking to an employment lawyer
As long as you didn’t sign the offer and return it to your boss, you have two years from the date of your dismissal to pursue full severance pay.
3. Check your employment contract for a termination clause
It’s not uncommon for employers in the province to include a termination clause in their employment contracts – limiting the amount of compensation that an individual is owed when they are fired or let go.
If the contract you signed does include this provision, all hope isn’t lost.
In my experience, these agreements are often unenforceable – failing to hold up in a court of law for various reasons.
4. Contact us
If you were fired or let go for taking on a side gig, or for any reason, contact the experienced employment law team at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.
Since 2007, my firm has helped tens of thousands of non-unionized employees in Ontario enforce their rights and obtain the compensation that they are legally entitled to.
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One of my clients, a graphic designer in Ottawa, received an email from his manager – livid that he was driving for ride-hailing apps on the weekends.
Surprised by the message, the employee politely noted in his response that his employment contract didn’t prevent him from doing gig work outside of his scheduled hours.
Two days later, he got a phone call from his boss – informing him that he was being let go without severance for “serious misconduct.”
Confident that he had been wrongfully dismissed, the graphic designer contacted Samfiru Tumarkin LLP following the call.
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While explaining the situation to me, he provided a copy of the email conversation with his manager as well as his employment contract.
After reviewing the documents, it was clear that he didn’t meet the conditions necessary to be fired for cause.
Given the strength of the graphic designer’s case, I was able to secure a comprehensive severance package for him.
Fired? Lost your job? Boss pressuring you to accept a severance offer immediately?
Contact the firm or call 1-855-821-5900 to secure assistance from an employment lawyer in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. Get the advice you need — and the compensation you deserve.
Lior Samfiru is an employment lawyer and co-founding partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, Canada’s most positively reviewed law firm specializing in employment law and long-term disability claims. He provides legal insight on Canada’s only Employment Law Show on TV and radio.