Have you been terminated? If you are a non-unionized employee in Ontario and have been terminated or dismissed without cause, you are generally entitled to notice of termination, or pay in lieu of notice. The term “pay in lieu of notice” is also known as severance pay, termination pay, a severance package, or a layoff package.

Severance Packages are typically bittersweet. Offered during a layoff or workforce reduction, they are intended to compensate the employee for their years with the company and to ensure that they remain financially stable until you are able to find re-employment.

At Wahab Law, we can help you determine if the severance package you have been offered by your employer is fair. Documents that outline severance packages can often be intimidating, and extremely difficult to assess whether the severance offer is adequate. Often times, they fall far short of the amount that you are truly owed upon termination.

For example, employers will sometimes offer an employee what is deemed “minimum notice” in accordance with the provisions of the  Employment Standards Act, 2000, [Part XV, “Termination of Employment”] or the Canada Labour Code [pages 42-45], or 8 weeks’ notice, saying that it is in accordance with the Ministry of Labour’s “Termination and Severance” guidelines. However, these are just the minimums, to which of course an employer will comply, like the minimum wage, because otherwise, charges might occur. These are the kinds of things we find in severance package reviews.

We take time to gather information about you, your job, the company, your compensation and the events leading up to termination. We will then tell you what your severance package should contain, allowing you to compare our assessment with what you have actually been offered by the company.