Just Fired, Lost Your Job, Laid Off, What Now?

Описание: Getting fired from your job is rarely, if ever, a pleasant experience. And unlike your boss, who has been planning your termination and consulting with its legal counsel, your firing is done without advance notice.
Now you are out of work, without any certainty as to how you are going to meet your financial requirements and needing to focus upon your immediate future.
Your former boss meanwhile has been looking to limit your payout, hoping that you will quickly accept their termination package, because of the financial predicament that they place you in.
So, what should you be looking at doing?
First and foremost, contact an employment lawyer that can immediately advise you as to next steps.
Acting quickly is important when it comes to certain preliminary steps related to one’s firing, such that you want to get this practical guidance to strengthen your position and improve the lawyer’s negotiating position.
If you are being asked to wait any significant length of time before speaking to a lawyer, your window to take certain actions that would benefit your position might disappear.
You’ll want to understand your options in relation to the termination package that is being offered, as there are oftentimes more than a “take it or leave it” dynamic, you simply need to understand what those options are.
The common perception is that you must either (1) take what your former employer is offering or (2) refuse it and hope to receive something better through negotiations and/or court litigation.
These might well be the only two options if you are employed in the United States, or wish to base your life on Hollywood movies, however, that is not necessarily the case in Canadian employment situations.
And for that very reason, you want to be speaking with a knowledgeable employment lawyer, because where the particular facts align, those lawyers like to work those situations and truly mess with the employer’s plans.
So, what are these other options that fired Canadian employees might have at their disposal?
A. Getting paid their termination pay, while refusing to sign any paperwork sought by their former employer, where the amount of additional common law severance pay is insignificant.
B. Accepting the termination package of statutory termination pay and common law severance pay, while signing off on the former employer’s desired paperwork, because other aspects that the lawyer seeks to pursue is not covered by their paperwork.
C. Accepting the termination package of statutory termination pay and common law severance pay, while signing off on the former employer’s desired paperwork, because the lawyer believes their paperwork can be defeated in a court of law.
With each approach, the fired employee is capable of receiving the bulk of what their former employer is offering, while preserving the right for their lawyer to pursue their greater legal entitlement, which they are legally due.
However, the availability of these preferable options, or other strategies that you might consider after having been fired, will not be known to yourself unless you consult with a knowledgeable lawyer in advance of taking your next steps.
Having increased confidence in how you respond to your former employer is going to have a positive ripple effect on your other post-employment actions, from looking for your next job to dealing with the emotional stress of having your life upended.
As such, dealing with the legal component of your firing and having a proper understanding of your options and the course of action that you do take, is going to have a significant impact on all other post-employment aspects, such that it makes sense to look into your legal situation with a lawyer willing to provide that legal insight, irrespective of how hard it might be.
When you’ve been fired, laid-off, or otherwise lost your job, you need to take decisive action that is focused on moving yourself forward.
For knowledgeable legal counsel, contact our law firm at [email protected] or 403-400-4092 /905-616-8864.
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