In Canada, if you work in a non-unionized work environment, your employer is allowed to terminate you from your job without reason or cause, but only if an advanced warning or payment, known as severance, is provided. 

A wrongful dismissal occurs when you are terminated and not given reasonable notice or if you are terminated and not given an appropriate severance package. The amount of severance you are legally entitled to is based on numerous factors including your age, tenure, your position, and the availability of other employment. 

Experienced Toronto wrongful dismissal lawyers will be able to quickly identify whether the severance offer you received was sufficient or whether and how it should be improved. In some cases of wrongful termination in Toronto, your employer may claim that they have just cause to terminate you for some form of misconduct, so that they do not have to offer you any form of severance. However, only the most serious form of misconduct will meet this test. An experienced wrongful dismissal lawyer will be able to quickly determine whether you should receive severance despite your employer’s claims of misconduct. 

If you were presented with an offer of severance, chances are that there are some deficiencies. This could be that the company did not offer you as much severance as you are entitled to or that the terms of the severance offer does not take into account your total and overall compensation. Your entitlement may be more than your company is offering, based on your age, tenure, position, and past precedents. Make sure your severance package is fair and reasonable; consult our severance pay calculator here.

For multiple reasons, it is important to secure legal advice quickly from a Toronto wrongful dismissal lawyer, so that you can understand your options and figure out if you have the grounds for a wrongful dismissal claim. 

If your employer has fired you for alleged misconduct, this is something that they will need to prove you were responsible for, and that your misconduct was so grave that you are disqualified from a severance package. You have the right to sue your employer for wrongful dismissal claiming that the decision to withhold any severance from you was improper.