I’ve been fired without cause; what are my rights?

Q: What are my rights after being fired without cause?

A: If you have been terminated without cause, you are entitled to working notice or pay in lieu of working notice.

The Employment Standards Act (ESA) sets out the minimum employment standards for provincially regulated employees in Ontario.

Generally, employment agreements limit employee benefits to the statutory minimums outlined in the ESA. The ESA requires that employees who are not guilty of wilful misconduct — which requires evidence that an employee was “being bad on purpose” — receive notice of termination, and prescribes the amount of notice employees are owed based on their tenure.

However, if the termination provision of your employment contract is unenforceable, you may be entitled to common law notice, which is a significantly greater entitlement. For example, under the ESA you may be entitled to two weeks of pay in lieu of notice. in this scenario, if the termination provision of your employment contract is unenforceable, you could be entitled to common law notice of two months of pay in lieu of notice.

As a result of developments in the law, more employment contracts in Ontario have unenforceable termination clauses than you may think. If you have been fired, it is important to determine if the termination provision of your contract is enforceable and what notice, or pay in lieu of notice, you are entitled to.

If you have been terminated, reach out to me or a member of our team to discuss your options.

This article was originally published by The Hamilton Spectator.