Pro-Active Employment Advice

If you have been terminated from your job and your employer has given you a written offer demanding you accept, sign a release, and return to them within seven (7) days, what should you do?

GET LEGAL ADVICE, and don’t sign anything until you do!

Should you represent yourself?

It is rarely, if ever, a good idea for an employee to negotiate directly with their employer, as the employer (and their lawyer) will have a clear and decisive advantage in the negotiation process.

You have two years from the date of termination to commence a civil action for wrongful dismissal in Ontario. Employers set arbitrary deadlines to get you moving and to think that an offer will disappear unless you accept it right away — rarely is this the case. Now is not the time to be hasty or rush to accept the first offer. Instead, this is the time to ensure you provide for yourself and your family, and have sufficient time to position yourself for new employment without any financial distress.

What forms part of a wrongful dismissal settlement?

Each case is different and each client’s “needs and wants” are unique. Maximizing your financial position after you have been terminated is fundamentally important, but other considerations can and do come into play.

Employers often are prepared to provide letters of reference as part of an overall settlement. Sometimes making sure future prospective employers contact the right member of senior management, who will say positive things about you, is critical to assisting you in finding new employment.

In the negotiating process, depending on your leverage, you are only limited by what you want in return for a binding settlement. Being creative should always be encouraged.

Seek Legal Advice

Always seek legal advice before signing any release, settlement agreement, or binding contract to know your rights and what you are legally entitled to. Clients need to understand the actual value of their case and, more importantly, their rights and all the options available.

Building sound legal arguments takes skill and experience and must be based on a fair and realistic assessment of all the facts, the current state of the law, and well-accepted legal principles. 

Employment Law Advice

If you need employment law advice, Contact Evans Law Firm today for a free no-obligation consultation with an employment lawyer. Sometimes time limits can bar an otherwise good claim from being advanced. Please don’t delay and contact us as soon as possible. There is no cost until we are formally retained and a written retainer agreement is in place.