When Are Defined Severance Terms Unfair?
DANIEL LUBLIN SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL It is hard to win a game when you start with a disadvantage. Yet when signing employment contracts, employees constantly set themselves …
Important Additions in a Severance Package
The purpose of a severance package is to make a terminated employee “whole” over a reasonable period of time. Very commonly, severance packages include only base salary, neglecting other elements …
Q&A: Is it wise to compare a severance package to a colleague’s?
Comparing Severance Packages In the event of mass termination, most often employees will discuss their severance packages and compare them to those of their colleagues. Although, gossiping about your colleagues …
How to Handle a Severance Negotiation
Many laid off employees want to know if they should accept their employer’s offer of severance or if they can negotiate for more. As with most things in life, severance …
How do I tell if my severance is fair?
I was terminated without cause from my job recently after working there for three years. The company said it was a business decision. They have given me three weeks termination pay and my benefits until this month. If I agree to sign a “full and final release and indemnity” form they are offering one additional week of termination pay and an additional week of benefits. Is this fair or should I ask for more?
The ins and outs of job severance
Most employees cling to beliefs about workplace rights from media, friends or the Internet. But many of these “perceived” rights often do not exist. Here are some common misconceptions regarding severance and the law of dismissal.
The ins and outs of job severance
Some common misconceptions about severance packages and the dismissal by your employer.
Microsoft retracts initial severance offers… then retracts retraction
Fresh on the heels of a restructuring that will see up to 5,000 employees laid off, software giant Microsoft announced it botched the figures in the severance packages offered to some …
Have you read the fine print of your employment contract?
Employment contracts are becoming the biggest loophole in workplace law – but that loophole only works for employers.
Companies, with acute knowledge of how employment contracts can operate to their advantage, are increasingly requiring staff to sign one-sided agreements that reduce their legal rights.
These employees – most without any bargaining power, or worse, without an understanding of the law – often do not realize their legal interests are being undermined.
But if the law permits employers to do it, then why would they not try to prevent expensive lawsuits, large severance packages and competition from former employees, all with the stroke of a pen?
Do I have to repay my maternity top-up if I’m let go?
I am returning to work after a year-long maternity leave, and my company is planning to lay off a significant number of employees in the next two months. I will probably lose my job.
I received a top-up of around $7,000 for my mat leave. I’m required to come back for six months, and if I don’t return of my own choice, I need to pay that back. If I’m fired, can the company still expect me to pay this back? Can they subtract it from my severance pay? And do severance packages always count as insurable time if I need to go on employment insurance?