Calgary Wrongful Dismissal Lawyers: Do you know your rights?

Losing your job is stressful enough… But if you are not provided with the notice and the compensation you are entitled to, the situation is even worse.

If you suspect wrongful dismissal is at play in your termination, we strongly recommend you seek guidance and support of an experienced Calgary employment lawyer. These situations can be complicated, and businesses will often try to convince staff to sign documents that exempt them from the entitlements they deserve.

If you feel wrongful dismissal has impacted you, do not sign anything and reach out to one of our competent and approachable Calgary employment lawyers today.

You have rights you may not even know you have. We’re here to help you uncover them.

Wrongful dismissal, also called wrongful termination, is when an employer fires an employee without a legal reason to do so. In short, the employer fails to protect the legal rights of the employee. It’s a breach of common employment law standards.

You might have been wrongfully dismissed if one of the following applies to your situation:

• You were fired based on false allegations
• You were not given reasonable notice or your employer fails to pay the full amount you have a right to upon the termination of your employment (such as severance, notice period pay, vacation pay, or your final pay)
• The terms of your employment contract were changed without your agreement.

These cases are obscenely common, especially in the current landscape of COVID-19. Many businesses have been forced to downsize, and are unable to keep their full staff. Even in these very unusual circumstances, there is still very clear legislation that outlines what rights Calgarians have when facing dismissal.

When you are let-go, your employer is obligated to provide you with a termination notice. The amount of notice required is determined by the length of your employment:

The minimum notice periods defined by the Alberta Employment Standards Code (Section 56) are as follows:

• 1 week – if you were employed for less than 2 years (but more than 90 days)
• 2 weeks – if you were employed for less than 4 years (but a minimum of 2)
• 4 weeks – if you were employed for less than 6 years (but a minimum of 4)
• 5 weeks, if you were employed for less than 8 years (but a minimum of 6)
• 6 weeks – if you were employed for less than 10 years (but a minimum of 8)
• 8 weeks – if you were employed for 10 years or more

An employer may request that the employee does not work during their termination notice period. In these instances, termination pay (also known as pay-in-lieu) would be expected. This amount would be the equivalent pay to what the employee would earn if they had worked through their notice period. In some cases, employers will offer a combined notice and pay-in-lieu depending on their unique circumstances.