When Ontarians are offered an alternate role at their company, and decline it, they aren’t expecting the decision to cost them their jobs.
The reality is that non-unionized employees in the province can be fired for any reason, as long as they are provided full severance pay and the reasons for their dismissal aren’t discriminatory. This is known as a termination without cause.
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Unfortunately, many workers 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 after refusing an alternate role at your company, here are four things you need to do.
1. Remain calm and professional
Following a dismissal, your best course of action is to keep your cool. While it can be extremely tempting to lash out at your employer, don’t react in the heat of the moment.
Severance for non-unionized employees in Ontario can be as much as 24 months’ pay. Getting angry 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. Review your severance offer before signing it
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.
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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
Termination clauses can limit the amount of compensation that individuals are owed when they are fired or let go.
If the employment contract you signed does include this provision, don’t panic.
These agreements are often unenforceable—failing to hold up in a court of law for various reasons.
4. Contact us
If you lost your job after turning down an alternate role, 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 case that I’ll never forget involved an executive assistant in Toronto who was fired 15 minutes after declining an opportunity to transition to her company’s customer service team.
The worker received an email from her boss—informing her that she was being let go without severance because she refused to be a “team player.”
Resisting the urge to lash out at her employer, the executive assistant continued to be professional as she cleared her desk. Once she got home, she immediately contacted Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.
After reviewing her situation, I told the worker that she was well within her rights to pursue full severance pay through a wrongful dismissal claim.
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Given the strength of the executive assistant’s case, I was able to secure a comprehensive severance package for her.
Fired? Lost your job? Boss pressuring you to accept a severance offer immediately?
Contact the firm or call 1-855-821-5900 for a consultation with an employment or disability lawyer. We will get you 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.