The North American tech sector is being hit with layoffs and hiring freezes due to changing economic factors like inflation, rising interest rates and supply chain challenges.
Investors are avoiding risky start-ups and businesses that have yet to generate a profit; venture capitalists are reconsidering existing funding for companies to lower their burn rate and get more out of their investment.
Canadian companies like Wealthsimple and Thinkific Labs announced sizeable layoffs affecting hundreds of employees, while streaming service Netflix and crypto exchange Coinbase have parted ways with nearly 1,500 workers.
Being fired from your job can be a shocking experience, especially if it is unexpected and through no fault of your own. Here is what you should do if you lose your job in the tech industry.
Don’t sign a severance offer or termination papers
Though you may be tempted – or encouraged – to sign a severance offer from your employer, it is in your best interest not to accept it right away. They may suggest that it’s “the best we can do,” or that it’s a “generous” amount or all they are legally required to give you. In my experience as an employment lawyer, I often encounter termination offers that carry a one-, three- or five-day deadline.
READ MORE: Do you lose severance if you don’t sign by your company’s deadline? Lawyer explains why not
A termination can be an overwhelming affair, especially in the tech industry, where companies can announce a new round of funding one month, and layoffs the next.
I have found that some employers will take the opportunity, amid chaos and confusion, to get a fired employee to agree to the bare minimum – or less – of severance pay they are legally entitled to. Your employer can’t force you to accept an offer before you leave a meeting, or by a particular date. Once you do sign a severance package, you give up your ability to pursue additional compensation. Know that you have two years (not days!) from the moment you are let go to pursue a claim for wrongful dismissal – full severance – through an employment lawyer, like the ones at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.
Gather any documents and contracts
Gather all documents, including emails and texts, to support your employment history and experiences with your employer. This includes employment contracts, whether you are a part-time, full-time or contract worker.
READ MORE: Can you get paid if a contract ends early? Employment lawyer’s guide to fixed-term contracts
Add anything that references a promotion, pay increase, performance evaluation, disciplinary action, bonus, stock options, benefits, membership dues or car allowance.
This documentation provides a complete picture of your employment history with the company and will help determine how much compensation your severance package should legally contain. These pieces of information may be the difference between a few weeks’ pay and 24 months’ pay in severance.
READ MORE: Given a new employment contract? Review these key clauses, employment lawyer says
Use the Pocket Employment Lawyer
My firm created the Pocket Employment Lawyer to provide employees in Canada with a quick understanding of what their workplace rights are in various situations – especially when they lose their job.
Though it doesn’t provide an extensive review of your employment history, the tool’s functions give some basic insight into what your employer can and can’t do, and what your options are.
It also connects to the Severance Pay Calculator. This unique device looks at the most important aspects of your job – age, position, length of service and income – to figure out the range of severance pay you might be owed. It’s been used successfully by over two million Canadians to discover what their employers’ financial obligations are in a termination scenario.
READ MORE: Law firm’s tool helps employees figure out how much severance they’re owed if fired
Talk to an employment lawyer
This is the most crucial step in the process. The employment lawyers at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP have years of negotiating and maximizing severance packages for all types of employees in the tech industry, from software developers to senior executives.
We will review your severance offer and analyze all the documents you assembled in the previous step, especially your contract. It’s a key record that establishes fundamental aspects of your job, such as your duties, vacation time, pay, hours of work or the length of your contract. It may also contain clauses that influence your rights after you are fired or laid off. A termination clause will try to limit the amount of severance pay you can receive, though it is often unenforceable. Like businesses in other industries, tech companies will try to use non-compete clauses and other terms to stop you from finding work elsewhere in your trade.
A consultation with an employment lawyer will help you figure out what your options are after losing your job. We can help you determine how much severance you are entitled to receive and alleviate some of the stress as we explain how we may be able to secure vital compensation as you seek new employment.
READ MORE: Five things you should never do before talking to an employment lawyer
Lost your job in the tech industry? Not sure how much compensation you are entitled to receive?
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 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 free advice as the host of Canada’s only Employment Law Show on TV and radio.