Severance pay considerations
Before changing jobs, you need to consider future severance possibilities.
While a severance package in Ontario can be as much as 24 months’ pay, compensation for non-unionized employees, including those at Airbus, is calculated using several factors, including:
- Position at the company
- Ability to find new work
If you quit your current job, you may NOT be owed severance
In most cases, non-unionized workers in Ontario don’t get a severance package if they resign from their position voluntarily to take up employment elsewhere.
Severance is designed to provide employees with financial support while they look for new work after being fired without cause or let go.
However, if you’re forced to leave because of unwanted changes to your job, it’s very likely that you could treat it as a constructive dismissal.
In this situation, the law allows you to resign and pursue full severance pay.
If you believe that you’ve been constructively dismissed, don’t quit your job until you speak with an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
• Should I negotiate my own severance package in Ontario?
• Employment Law Show: Things to never do before seeking legal counsel
Your length of service affects your severance entitlements
If you’re fired without cause or let go, a key factor in determining how much severance pay you’re owed is your length of service.
- Example: If you worked for a company in Toronto for 14 years and decide to take a new job in Niagara Falls that you sought out on your own, you forfeit the severance entitlements you built up with your current employer. As a result, if you’re fired without cause or let go shortly after joining the new business, you could receive very little compensation.
However, there are situations where short-service employees are owed significantly more severance pay than they realize.
If your employer fires you without cause, and you’ve only been with the company for three years or less, don’t accept your severance offer before contacting our firm.
As long as you didn’t sign the offer and send it back to your boss, you have two years from the date of your dismissal to pursue full severance pay.
We can review the offer and help you secure the compensation you’re legally entitled to.
SEE ALSO
• I already accepted a severance package, what should I do?
• Do I have to look for a new job after getting fired?
• Employment Law Show: Facts about the termination process
Recruited by another company?
In some cases, non-unionized workers in Ontario leave their current job after being actively recruited by another company.
If your new employer took documented steps to entice you to take up employment with them, this is known as inducement.
In the event that the company decides to terminate you shortly after pulling you away from your previous employer, the inducement should be taken into consideration when determining your severance entitlements.
- Example: Airbus Helicopters entices you to leave your current job to come work at its distribution centre in Niagara Falls. If you’re terminated shortly after making the switch, the company may be on the hook for enhanced severance pay because of the pressure it placed on you to leave your previous employer.
If this situation applies to you, don’t sign your severance offer until it’s been reviewed by a member of our team.
We can confirm that the inducement has been properly factored into your severance package and help you secure the compensation you deserve if it isn’t.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
• Recruited by another company in Alberta: Employee rights
• Inducement in B.C.: What employees need to know
Got a job offer? Contact us
Before signing a new employment contract, have Samfiru Tumarkin LLP’s experienced Niagara Falls employment lawyers review the agreement to make sure your workplace rights are protected.
Our Ontario team has successfully represented tens of thousands of non-unionized individuals across the province.
We can help you better understand the terms of the contract and advise you on how best to navigate the situation.
