Being let go from a job is often an extremely stressful time for an employee. In most cases, their financial lifeline has been unexpectedly pulled out from under them, and they aren’t sure what their next steps should be.
That’s why I created the Severance Pay Calculator tool. It’s a free online resource that aims to give employees a better understanding of their right to compensation.
Since it was launched in late 2013, the Severance Pay Calculator has been successfully used by more than two million Canadians to find out how much severance they may be entitled to receive after losing their job.
The calculator has also been an eye-opener for some employers, who either purposefully or innocently offer severance packages that fall short of their legal obligations.
Here’s how the tool works and what employees should know about using it.
READ MORE: 5 ways to determine if your severance package is fair
How the Severance Pay Calculator works
The calculator asks a few basic questions about your age, position with the company, salary, length of time spent working for the employer and how much compensation you may have been offered.
The Severance Pay Calculator then uses that information and the results of court decisions from the past several decades to calculate the amount of money your former employer could owe you.
If the resulting amount is higher than your employer’s initial severance offer, even by a few months’ salary, it is likely that you have been wrongfully dismissed by your employer and are entitled to a greater amount of compensation.
That’s where an employment lawyer, like the team at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, can help. You can opt to submit your results from the Severance Pay Calculator, and a member of my team will contact you to determine how our legal experts can best assist you.
READ MORE: Fired for no reason? Employment lawyer explains why your employer can do that
Why the calculator often differs from a company’s severance offer
One of the most popular questions my law firm receives through emails, phone calls and texts, as well as interaction with our ongoing radio, TV and livestream programs, is why the amount indicated by the Severance Pay Calculator is much higher than the severance offered by an employer.
In some cases, an employer may be aware of how much pay they should give you, but has given a lowball offer in the hopes that you won’t ask questions or use our tool to discover what you’re entitled to.
READ MORE: 5 things your employer can’t legally do in Canada, according to an employment lawyer
In other cases, a company may believe that they only need to pay what the province’s employment standards legislation requires them to provide. This may only amount to a few weeks’ pay, when what they really must consider is a person’s full rights under common law. This can push the ultimate value of a severance package to 24 months’ pay.
If you have a signed employment contract, it may contain a termination clause that limits the severance your employer owes you to a matter of weeks. What your employer may not realize is that many clauses are poorly crafted and not legally binding.
READ MORE: Given a new employment contract? Review these key clauses, employment lawyer says
Talk to an employment lawyer after using the calculator
Your next step after using the Severance Pay Calculator should be to contact an employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP. We can review your employment history and make sure your severance package factors in your ability to find new work, your skillset, bonuses, overtime pay, benefits, car allowances, stock options, the impact of signed agreements and whether you are owed human rights damages.
Have you lost your job? Need to find out exactly how much severance your employer legally owes you?
Contact the firm or call 1-855-821-5900 to secure assistance from an employment lawyer in Ontario, Alberta or British Columbia. 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. He provides free advice as the host of Canada’s only Employment Law Show on TV and radio.