After working dozens of hours each week and helping their company reach key milestones, it’s natural for non-unionized employees in Alberta to desire some additional compensation.
While staff can ask for a raise, it’s not uncommon for employers to fire workers shortly after they request an increase in pay. Despite this seeming wrong to many people, companies are within their legal right to do so.
Non-unionized employees in the province can be let go for any reason, as long as they are provided full severance, which can be as much as 24 months’ pay, and the reasons for their dismissal aren’t discriminatory. This is called a termination without cause.
However, many Albertans 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 are dismissed shortly after asking your boss for a raise, here are three things you need to do.
1. Remain calm and professional
Finding out that you are being let go after discussing a pay increase with your employer can be extremely frustrating. However, it’s crucial that you don’t react in the heat of the moment.
Getting angry during your termination meeting or doing something to negatively affect the company could reduce the amount of severance pay you are legally entitled to. Don’t give your boss a reason to deny you the compensation you are owed.
READ MORE: 5 ways to determine if your severance package is fair
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Unless your employer has grounds to fire you for cause, which is very unlikely, you are entitled to full severance pay.
In most cases, non-unionized employees don’t meet the conditions necessary for this type of dismissal. It’s reserved for the worst kinds of workplace offences, such as serious insubordination, theft or assault.
Not only does your company have to prove progressive disciplinary measures were applied, but that a lesser punishment wouldn’t be acceptable, which is very difficult to do.
If you are fired for cause, contact an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP immediately.
We can determine if this type of dismissal was appropriate in your situation and help you secure the compensation you deserve if it wasn’t.
2. Carefully review your severance offer before accepting it
In Alberta, many non-unionized workers believe that they have to sign their employer’s severance offer before leaving a termination meeting or a few days after receiving it. However, this isn’t true.
Companies often pressure staff to immediately accept severance packages that provide them with significantly less compensation than they are entitled to.
Once you receive a severance offer from your boss, carefully review it before signing anything. If you are unsure about what you are accepting, contact our firm.
As long as you didn’t sign the offer and return it to your employer, you legally have two years from the date of your dismissal to pursue full severance pay.
READ MORE: 5 things employees should never do before talking to an employment lawyer
The amount of severance non-unionized employees in the province are entitled to is calculated using several factors, including age, length of service, position at the company and their ability to find new work.
To figure out how much compensation you could be owed, use our firm’s free Severance Pay Calculator tool.
If the amount provided by your company falls short of what is legally appropriate, you have been wrongfully dismissed and should take legal action.
Our employment lawyers regularly resolve wrongful dismissal claims and can help you obtain proper severance.
3. Contact us
If you are fired shortly after asking your boss for a raise, or for any reason, contact the experienced employment law team at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.
We have helped numerous non-unionized individuals across Alberta enforce their workplace rights and secure the compensation they deserve.
READ MORE: 5 of the most common work situations where getting an employment lawyer can help
One of the firm’s clients, a financial analyst working in Calgary, asked his boss if it was possible to increase his salary by three per cent.
Shortly after the conversation, the employee was put on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP).
While he was able to complete most of the goals outlined in the company’s PIP, there were a few things that he wasn’t able to address within the timeframe provided by his employer.
Less than a week later, his boss informed him that he was being fired without severance pay because he didn’t complete the PIP successfully.
READ MORE: Fired after a performance review in Alberta? 4 things to know
Instead of getting angry during his termination meeting, he remained professional and contacted Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.
When our lawyers examined the PIP, they found that the goals set by the business were unrealistic and the employee wasn’t provided with the proper support to improve his work.
As a result, we were able to secure full severance pay for the former financial analyst because he didn’t meet the conditions necessary to be terminated for cause.
Fired after asking for a raise? 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 Alberta, British Columbia or Ontario. Get the advice you need — and the compensation you deserve.
Lior Samfiru and Karishma Patel are employment lawyers at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, Canada’s most positively reviewed law firm specializing in employment law and long-term disability claims. The firm provides free advice through Canada’s only Employment Law Show on TV and radio.