Employment Law Layer (Wrongful dismissal case)

[FYD524]

Hello Beyonders,

I was recently terminated without notice, and in this case, I believe I was wrongfully dismissed and treated in bad faith. Does anyone have any experiences with the Employment Standards complaint process or know of any helpful employment law lawyers?

Since it'll be asked, I was let go for something that I don't think was severe enough for the termination, considering that others did the same things I did and I was the only one terminated.

Any help is appreciated!

[bubbley]

What was the exact reason...

[FYD524]

The exact reason, I prefer not to say in case my employer finds this thread (long shot, but better safe than sorry). Does it help that the reason they listed was an incorrect assessment of the situation? They might as well have said "We gotta let you go because 2+2=5. Adios!"

[kaput]

.

[beyond_ban]

I have been let go before for "no justifiable cause." I was with the company for 7 months, but going into winter it gets really slow so they let me go with no severance.

Karma came back to bite them in the ass and somehow i managed to stay on payroll for an additional 4 months. I got my normal salary check without commission (because i was obviously not selling anything) two times a month. Needless to say, i was the happiest man in the world to keep receiving checks.

[Weapon_R]

Were you given a notice or pay in lieu of notice?

[FYD524]

Originally posted by Weapon_R
Were you given a notice or pay in lieu of notice?

I was given nothing. They gave me absolutely nothing. Didn't communicate with me that they were considering terminating me, didn't bother for a response to any allegation, and didn't even give me an accurate description on my termination letter. No explanation except that it's all there on the letter (which it's clearly not). Nothing.

[bubbley]

Originally posted by FYD524


I was given nothing. They gave me absolutely nothing. Didn't communicate with me that they were considering terminating me, didn't bother for a response to any allegation, and didn't even give me an accurate description on my termination letter. No explanation except that it's all there on the letter (which it's clearly not). Nothing.

I believe they can fire you 'with cause' on the spot with no notice (so what they claimed you did was pretty serious im assuming); its 'without just cause' they have to give you two week notice or pay. Its up to the employer to prove why you were let go and what you did wrong, especially if you were an employee in good standing ie. never written up etc

I believe you have options that you can seek out with the labour board

[1slw4dr]

I had something simalar happen to me. It was over some one elses fuck up, they got to keep there job and i got fired. It was even on camera catching the other guy, they told me since i was in charge it was my responsibility. I had no idea of what happened until the next day, it was out of my control and there was nothing i could of done about it.

Total BS! I never had a written warning about anything and was with the company for over a year

I contacted employment standards they did shit all. They contacted my employer about the issue and my employer lied to them saying it was me on camera. Employment standards never even checked the footage, basically they told me i was SOL because i did not have any evidence.

Fucking useless bastards!

[97'Scort]

Check your employment contract. If you were still in the probationary period (3-6 months depending on the company) they can release you for any reason.

[can't hide]

How long have you been at this job that you were fired from?

[Canadian 2.5RS]

Originally posted by 1slw4dr
I had something simalar happen to me. It was over some one elses fuck up, they got to keep there job and i got fired. It was even on camera catching the other guy, they told me since i was in charge it was my responsibility. I had no idea of what happened until the next day, it was out of my control and there was nothing i could of done about it.

Total BS!

I contacted employment standards they did shit all. They contacted my employer about the issue and my employer lied to them saying it was me on camera. Employment standards never even checked the footage, basically they told me i was SOL because i did not have any evidence.

Fucking useless bastards!

That's why you should have got a lawyer and had it file for discovery or whatever-the-fuck it's called on Law and Order.

I kind of live by the following:

"If you think you have a case, and you think the payout will outweigh the costs to you, then TALK TO A LAWYER!"

[1slw4dr]

Its sort of hard to get a lawer when you have no money!

[FYD524]

Originally posted by can't hide
How long have you been at this job that you were fired from?

More than 2 years

[Weapon_R]

Unless you provide more details, it's impossible for anyone to give you a good idea of where to start.

I will tell you this - Very few lawyers will take this case on a contingency basis, ie - take a cut of your settlement. You won't get your job back and will probably end up with about 1 month's salary for every year of work if you prevail. Employers can fire you for any reason, even if they don't like the way you look, as long as they can justify their reason or give you the statutory minimum severance.

Are you ready to pony up $350/hr to argue this?

[Xtrema]

If you are a probie, they don't need any reason to terminate.

If you are a contractor, check you contract for notice term.

If you are an employee, did you get fired for performance? It's the easiest excuse to fire someone (other than company policy violation). But you should get some compensation (2 week/yr minimum I believe)

Like Kaput said, unless there's a huge retirement package riding on this, I won't bother with lawyers for a couple weeks of pay.

EDIT: just read posts above this. I won't bother. Apply for EI and move on.

I'm sure they terminate with cause (instead of without) just so they can hire someone else for less $ in your position. They can't rehire on laid off (lack of work).

[gretz]

What is your position title? No explanation of what happened other than 2+2=5.... Its hard to tell from the facts if it is wrongful dismissal lol.

I'll assume since you won't disclose : You got fired for eating fries out of the deep fry tray? Others do it, but you got the boot...

OR

Just because your boss come and goes as he/she pleases, doesn't mean you can lol...

Please correct me if I'm wrong, at least shed light on it some more...

You are worried about your employer finding this? If they are in the wrong, then who gives a shit. That, and you are already fired, who cares if they see this. Seems like there is something else (everything) you aren't spilling... well, go ahead, spill...

[dexlargo]

Here's an outline of wrongful dismissal law:

In general, an employer can terminate an employee at anytime with or without cause (unless the employee is in a union). If terminating without cause, their obligation is to either give you reasonable working notice of termination, or to pay you out for a reasonable notice period. If the termination is for cause, then there is no obligation to provide notice of termination to the employee.

When terminated without cause, how much notice you're entitled to depends on how long you have worked for the employer. Your employment contract may stipulate the duration of the notice period, but in no circumstances can the notice period be less than the minimums set by the employment standards code. If the contract of employment does not set out a notice period, or if the amount in the contract is less than the minimums, then the common law applies. Depending on how specialized the field is, and how hard it is to find comparable employment, the amount of notice paid ranges from 1 week per year of service to a month or more per year of service.

Once terminated, you have a duty to attempt to find replacement employment. If you don't look for work, any award may be reduced because you failed to mitigate the employer's damages. If you do find a new job, the damages the employer owes would be reduced by the amount of money you earned during the notice period. So, if you got a new job that paid $4 per hour less than your old job, your employer would owe you the difference between what you would have made at your old job and what you did make in your new job during the notice period.

Whether or not you were wrongfully dismissed depends on what the grounds for dismissal were. For many dismissals, an employer needs to show a course of conduct by the employee, with written warnings and attempts made to correct the employee conduct short of termination. Other offences can be grounds for immediate dismissal without any warnings, like assaulting your boss, or major theft from the business, etc.

If the termination is determined to be a wrongful dismissal, you would then be entitled to reasonable notice of termination - usually a pay out, not working notice.

It's conceivable that a person could get additional damages for bad faith in dismissal, but the circumstances are usually quite extreme when these damages are awarded.

If you think it's wrongful dismissal and just want what the employment standards code would award, you can contact employment standards who can order your employer to pay you those amounts if they determine that the dismissal was without proper cause. If you want more, you have to sue.

Anyway, that's my attempt at a thumbnail sketch of the law surrounding wrongful dismissal. Don't rely on it - For actual advice, talk to a lawyer.

So, how long did you work there, you say more than two years, is it less than 3 years then?, and (just in general if you're uncomfortable) what were the alleged grounds for dismissal? Theft? Carelessness? Poor performance?

[Nigel Mansell]

A relative is an labour lawyer. Please provide details, via pm if necessary, and I'll forward it on to him to see if you have a case.

[adam c]

it's actually 1 week per year up to a maximum of 8 weeks i believe

i was let go in the summer without cause, was quite pissed off at my former employer for that since i walk in monday morning and instead of telling me i had to find out on my own since i was locked out of my computer account and had to find my manager