Wrongful termination or dismissal can be a complex concept to understand for those who are unfamiliar with how these situations work. That’s why it is always recommended to see professional legal services regarding what you should do if you are to fall into this situation. This article has been put together to help inform and educate you on what wrongful termination of employment means in simple terms as this is a difficult concept to understand and several factors are at play that can affect each situation differently. To get a general understand of what wrongful termination or dismissal is, keep reading.
Wrongful termination or dismissal simply means that an employee gets terminated without a cause and there is insufficient severance offered or no severance offered at all. To get into the details, severance pay is usually benefits or money that is offered to a downsized employee. Employees are legally entitled to this. Severance pay is often given to help an employee stand on their feet while they are in between jobs as now they have to find a new job. The amount of severance pay can be influenced by a variety of factors. These factors include years of service to the company, probability of finding other employment, employees’ age, and the overall character of the employee.
What Is Wrongful Dismissal?
According to theLegal Line, wrongful dismissal is characterized as an employee not getting what they are entitled to legally. This includes a minimum amount of notice before an employee is laid off or receiving pay in lieu of formal notice. If an employee is not giving either of these options, they are to be considered wrongfully terminated or dismissed.
There are also a few other ways that you can be wrongfully terminated. This includes if you have experienced discrimination. No one in the workplace can be fired because of their race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or disability. These are illegal forms of being fired and can be deemed as wrongfully terminated.
If you think that you have not been given reasonable notice, have not obtained the correct benefits or bonus that you should have been entitled to, or if you think you should be eligible for employment insurance, it’s time that you speak with a professional. A paralegal firm will be able to tell you if you were wrongfully terminated or not and they will also be able to inform you with knowledge about your situation as well as tell you what your next steps should be to correct the situation.
Have I Done Anything Wrongful to Be Dismissed?
If you think that you have been wrongfully terminated, it’s important to consider that you have not acted in a “just cause”. This means acting in a way that you can get legally fired. “Just causes” include stealing or damaging property at work, acting in violent behavior, lying about the qualifications on your resume, acted in sexual harassment, being late or careless at work, acting in fraud, or refusing work that has been assigned to you. If you have acted in either of these ways, you can not be wrongfully terminated and the company has the right to fire you.
Next Steps After a Wrongful Dismissal
If you are an employee and you feel that you have been wrongfully terminated there are a few things you can do. According to theGovernment of Canada, you can send the company a written statement with a request for the reasons you were dismissed. Employers must legally reply to this message within 15 days. Employees who have been wrongfully dismissed can also file a complaint to the Labour Program up to 90 days after the dismissal has taken place.
In some instances, an inspector will serve as a mediator to try and resolve the problem at hand. This means they will negotiate and try to land on an even settlement between both parties. Usually, the problem can be solved at this stage but that is not always the case. If the problem is not resolved, an adjudicator will be called in and a hearing date will be set.
Choose Legal Services for Help
As this situation can be complicated, it’s best to have a professional legal team standing behind you. This is because aparalegal firmwill be able to guide you in the right direction and help to show you the legally correct ways to go about these types of situations. Usually, these types of outfits also allow for a free consultation so you can see if you require their assistance or not. As well, legal services can give you the information that you need to know this includes information regarding your rights, entitlements, and responsibilities. Paralegal firms can help negotiate your position as well as assist with your transition to a new job.
