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I’ve been laid off; am I entitled to termination pay?

I’ve been laid off; am I entitled to termination pay?

This article was originally published by The Hamilton Spectator.

Q: I’ve been laid off from my job. Am I entitled to termination pay?

A: Being terminated is a very scary experience for most people. Suddenly you no longer have a steady income, and you need to worry about how you’ll pay for essential expenses like rent, groceries, or child care.

The Employment Standards Act (ESA) provides for minimum notice periods of termination, which give employees time to find new work, and for severance pay in some circumstances. During your notice period, you may be required to continue working or you may simply be paid for the notice period.

Under the ESA, the amount of your termination pay and your eligibility for severance pay are calculated based on your number of years of employment. While these notice periods and payments provide some relief, they can be quite short and might not provide enough time to find new work that is comparable in terms of pay and seniority.

Fortunately, many employees are entitled to a larger payment upon termination based on the common law. Under the common law (law made by judges in other cases), factors such as your age, years of service, type of position, and the availability of similar work can entitle you to a larger payment or notice period. This can provide some additional financial security while you look for new work, but might require some negotiation with your employer because the length of common law notice periods are not as clear-cut as entitlements under the ESA.

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