Jason Huang-Kung, Workers’ Rights Lawyer
Employers have the option of terminating the employment of a non-unionized employee on a without cause basis by providing notice of termination, which can be provided in one of two ways (or a combination of both):
Working Notice: where an employer tells the employee that their employment would be terminated at some date in the future and allows the employee to continue working under the same terms and conditions of employment until that termination date; or
Pay in Lieu of Notice: where an employer tells the employee that their employment is terminated immediately and pays the employee the wages they would have earned if they continued working during the notice period.
The purpose of providing notice of termination is to provide an employee who is terminated on a without cause basis with a reasonable period of time to find alternate similar employment. During the notice period, the employee could be entitled to all employment benefits, such as their wages, car allowance, pension contribution and so on.
The length of the notice period that an employee is entitled to is not affected by whether the employer provides working notice or pay in lieu. Rather, courts consider factors which it has deemed would affect the length of time it would take for an employee to find alternate similar employment, including but not limited to:
length of service;
age;
character of employment; and
availability of similar employment.
Where an employer terminates an employee’s employment on a without cause basis, it usually offers a severance package in exchange for the employee’s agreement to sign a full and final release.
It is extremely important that a lawyer you retain reviews the severance package offered by your employer. Employers routinely offer less than what employees are entitled to with the hopes that employees would sign the release without first obtaining independent legal advice. Once the release is signed, the employee has signed away any entitlement for more money.
Have your particular matter assessed by an experienced Workers’ Rights Lawyer to obtain advice on whether you may be entitled to more money.
When acting for an employee who was terminated without cause, Kung Law typically takes the following steps:
Review the severance package offered by the employer and compare that offer with our assessment of how much a court may order;
Negotiate for a better severance package, including longer period of notice and inclusion of all employment benefits in the calculation; and
If necessary, pursue a court action against the employer for wrongful dismissal.
Contact us now using the form. We offer free consultations to assess your situation with no commitment.