Wrongful Dismissal
Dealing with termination or dealing with wrongful termination of your employment is a very stressful thing to do.
Dickson J. in Ref Re Public Service Relations Act noted that “Work is one of the most fundamental aspects in a person’s life, providing the individual with a mans of financial support and, as importantly, a contributory role in society. A person’s employment is an essential component of his or her sense of identity, self-worth and emotional well being. Accordingly, the conditions in which a person works are highly significant in shaping the whole compendium of psychological, emotional and physical elements of person’s dignity and self-respect”
I have three main things that I would remind a to-be terminated employee about…if I was able to catch them before their walk to the HR Guillotine.
1. Try not to freak out – don’t burn bridges.
No matter who you are, termination goes deeper than “losing a job”. As an employment lawyer I have learned to approach terminated employees with more patience and kindness. over the past few years Why? Termination is highly stressful. It affects the self-esteem and morale no matter who you are or what kind of face you put on. It is a very difficult to deal with. It is important understand that you have been walked to the HR Guillotine and you have been severed. You must move on. It’s not the time to blame anyone else, including yourself. Although it may take time, you must inevitably face the fact that you have been fired, and you must move to protect your rights under employment law. Don’t burn bridges. Don’t argue. Don’t get angry. It happened and there is nothing you can do about it. Leave with dignity.
2. Don’t beg for your job back – neutralize the situation and be positive.
Whether it is for downsizing purposes or other reason – don’t beg for your job back. You have been terminated and the decision to let you go was probably not an easy decision for your employer. It was probably highly thought out, discussed and decided throughout several meetings. Most of the time it really is not about performance or else you would not be surprised. You would have seen something coming down the pipes. You are not going to change your employer’s mind, no matter how much begging you do. I have seen very odd cases where employers re-offered employees their job back only when they realized how much it would have cost them to terminated that employee – but it is very rare. Don’t yell, don’t argue, don’t insult, don’t be mean – thank your employer for the opportunity, collect your affairs and then book a consultation with a lawyer.
3. It is vital that you meet with a lawyer – you have rights. 99% of employees I meet don’t have a clue what their rights are.
You need to speak to a lawyer. You need to find out what your rights are. You need to have a lawyer review your letter of termination to ensure that the severance offered to you (assuming you were terminated without cause) not only meets minimum statutory obligations, but it is fair and reasonable. We can assist you to ensure that reasonable notice is properly negotiated with your employer. You also need to ensure that your benefit entitlement is properly continued or quantified throughout the period of notice. There may also be issues with coverage (disability or insurance), your bonus, sick pay, overtime, investment, pension and stock options. After being terminated most people have a difficult time to put things into perspective emotionally so it’s not good time to start learning on your own about what you may or may not be entitled to. Let a lawyer do this. Let your lawyer worry about reference letters and retraining issues and all the other quandaries that tag along in the vortex of a termination.
Once all is said and done – take some time to rebuild your confidence and self-esteem. The unplanned and ill-fated perplexity of termination will be behind you soon enough.
If you need to discuss a severance package please do not hesitate to call Matt Lalande at 905-639-8894 or email matt@employment-law.ca
