Usually, when your employment is terminated without a valid reason, it is important to know how much notice you are really entitled to. You are entitled to a certain amount of notice before you have to leave the company. This means that an employer must tell you that they intend to terminate you and give you a reasonable amount of time to continue working while you look for another job. If you are not given this reasonable amount of time, you are entitled to any wages you lost.
How much notice you are really entitled to
Employers everywhere are misinforming their employees about how much notice they are actually entitled to. Oftentimes, employers only provide the notice set out in the Employment Standards Act, which states an employee is entitled to:
(i) one weeks’ notice after three consecutive months of employment;
(ii) two weeks’ notice after 12 consecutive months of employment; and
(iii) three weeks’ notice after three consecutive years of employment, plus one additional week for each additional year of employment, to a maximum of eight weeks’ notice.
However, the courts have decided that employees are often entitled to significantly more than what is set out in the Employment Standards Act.
Case law
In the leading case of Bardal v. Globe & Mail Ltd, the Court has stated that the amount of notice provided by an employer must be decided on a case-by-case basis, having regard to the type and length of employment, the age, experience, and qualifications of the employee, and the availability of other similar jobs. When applied, an employee is usually entitled to significantly more than what the Employment Standards Act allows.
There are plenty of other cases that establish how much notice you are really entitled to.
- In Frederick v. International Fund Raising Consultants Ltd., the court awarded a 44-year-old sales consultant 10 months’ notice after three years of employment.
- In Stetmoen v. Nafco Manufacturing Co. Ltd., the court awarded a 52-year-old machine operator 16 months’ notice after 18 years and four months of employment.
- In Kalsi v. Greater Vancouver Associate Stores Ltd., the court awarded a 36-year-old mechanic 16 months’ notice after 16 years of employment.
- In Nikkel v. College of Pharmacists of British Columbia, the court awarded a 57-year-old pharmacist 16 months’ notice after 15.5 years of employment.
- In McDonald v. GBC Canada Inc., the court awarded a 40-year-old sales representative 7.5 months’ notice after 10 years of employment.
Here to help
As demonstrated above, the maximum of eight weeks’ notice cited by the Employment Standards Act is not an accurate account of how much notice you are really entitled to.
If you have been fired or let go and believe you were treated unfairly, the lawyers at Acumen Law Corporation can help you. Don’t let yourself get bullied by your past employer. Give us a call on 604-685-8889.