Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough has said that employees who are fired because they refuse to get vaccinated will likely not be eligible for employment insurance (E.I.). In an interview with The West Block, the minister told Global News that those who don’t comply with an employer’s clearly defined vaccination requirement could be dismissed for not meeting the company’s condition of employment.
Qualtrough is correct that a person can’t access E.I. if they are terminated for cause. But in my experience as an employment lawyer, for cause dismissals are often applied inappropriately.
READ MORE: 5 things you should know about mandatory vaccination policies at work
The trouble with for cause terminations
Termination for cause is reserved for the most egregious offences, such as violence in the workplace or theft, rather than things like being late for work, missing a sales or performance goal, or being let go due to restructuring. If a termination is truly for cause, the employee is not entitled to a severance package or E.I.
A fair number of dismissals, however, are identified as being for cause when they are not. Often employers mislabel terminations even though they have yet to establish a pattern of negative issues with an employee. Some companies fail to understand the purpose of a termination for cause, while others simply claim terminations are for cause to avoid paying severance.
When our firm encounters a faulty dismissal for cause, we make sure that it is properly reclassified as being without cause, that the employee receives their rightful severance — which can be as much as 24 months’ pay — and that they’re eligible for E.I.
READ MORE: Partying on a job site, criticizing mask-wearing: Reasons to fire employees for cause or not?
Is refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19 just cause for termination?
Non-compliance with a company’s vaccine policy likely does not justify a termination for cause.
Legally, employers cannot unilaterally change the terms of employment for their staff. Without a government mandate for a company or its sector of employment, however, a vaccine requirement does change the terms of employment. If a company decides to let someone go for not getting the vaccine, it is likely a dismissal without cause, which entitles the employee to a complete severance package.
READ MORE: Can non-unionized employees be fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine?
I was fired for cause for refusing vaccination. Can I still get E.I.?
You are likely still eligible for E.I. if you lose your job for failing to comply with a company’s vaccine policy. If the employer’s vaccine policy is not backed by government mandate, but your employer insists that they have reason to let you go, talk to an employment lawyer, like the team at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, before signing termination papers.
An employment lawyer can assess your situation and determine which type of termination should apply — and how to get you the severance and E.I. that you’re legally entitled to.
Fired from your job, but can’t get severance or E.I.? Find out how much you are owed and how to get it.
Contact the firm or call 1-855-821-5900 to secure assistance from an employment lawyer in Ontario, British Columbia or Alberta. Get the advice you need — and the compensation you deserve.
Lior Samfiru is an employment lawyer and partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, Canada’s most positively reviewed law firm specializing in employment law and long-term disability claims. His firm provides free advice as the host of Canada’s only Employment Law Show on TV and radio.