Employers in Canada are bound under both federal and provincial legislation to provide reasonable notice or pay in lieu of notice to their employees for termination where there is no just cause for dismissal. From the time you sign your employment agreement until the time you are terminated, it is important that employees be aware of their rights under Canadian employment law. A wrongful dismissal lawyer should be consulted to analyze the nuances within your particular case, however, for now, the below will provide useful answers to common concerns.
Prior to Joining a New Employer
Every employment contract has to adhere to employment standards legislation which provides minimum entitlements. Employment standards legislation covers minimum wage, hours of work, leaves of absence and other basic matters. Before signing make sure to analyze the termination provision. Is it contracting you out of the common law? This usually occurs with high-level employees and executive contracts. Visit a Toronto employment lawyer to ensure the contract works in your favour. Other provisions to look at are notice periods and the compensation scheme. Some high-level contracts that have incentive plans as part of the compensation structure include termination provisions embedded within them. These provisions may work against an employee who obtains a significant portion of their income from the incentive plan or bonus.
Performance-Based Dismissal
If there are performance related issues, it is important that your employer have substantial grounds for dismissing you. They must warn you prior to dismissal and provide you an opportunity to improve performance.
Discrimination
Employees cannot be terminated on human rights grounds such as caste, gender, race, creed or religion. If you feel you have been discriminated against and your dismissal included a human rights ground under the Ontario Human Rights Code, reach out to an employment lawyer to determine how your wrongful dismissal will be impacted by a human rights violation.
Reprisal
If an employee contests unsafe activity at work, an employer cannot terminate the employee. Both federal and provincial laws contain provisions prohibiting retaliation by the employer against the employee for seeking assistance and protesting unsafe working conditions.
Mitigating Damages
It is important to remember that when advancing your wrongful dismissal claim, all employees have an obligation to mitigate damages by seeking other employment.
A dismissal based on any of the above alleged grounds is unjust. Ensure that you visit a Toronto employment lawyer versed in wrongful dismissals to advance your case. At Ball Professional Corporation, our preference and strategy is to negotiate a settlement without litigation. Where litigation is necessary, and with over thirty years of employment law experience, our office can effectively advance your case. For a consultation, please call our office at 416-921-7997.