It has been reported by news sources such as the CBC that Bell Canada has announced that it will layoff approximately 690 non-unionized employees (mostly managers) to reduce debt and drive growth. Bell Canada is Canada’s largest telecommunications company. This latest round of job cuts and dismissals in the telecommunications industry is one of many that has been experienced in this last year as growth has slowed down in that industry.

What are your legal rights if you have been laid off or wrongfully dismissed?

Bell Canada employees fall within Canada’s federal jurisdiction. Federal employees are employees who work in industries that are federally regulated like telecommunications. Federal employees that work in non-unionized workplaces have their own specific legislation that sets out their employment statutory standards and entitlements called the Canada Labour Code, 1985. The Canada Labour Code is similar, but not identical to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 which set outs the employment standards for provincial employees. If you would like to read more about federal employees, you can review our blog titled “Am I a federal employee?“.

Also, absent an enforceable contractual term, an employer cannot simply tell an employee that there is no more work for them to do right in the present and so maybe at a certain date in the future, the employee should be able to continue with their job once the employer has more work. In this situation the “lay off” is a dismissal, and as such, the employee is entitled to both statutory and potentially common law entitlements upon that dismissal.

We have a lot of information about lay offs on our website as lay offs are a common employment law issue that can be confusing for a lot of people. If you want to read more about lay offs, please see our related articles:

• Layoffs, layoffs, layoffs
• Laid off from your job?
• Mass layoffs and terminations in the tech industry

Similarly, another common misunderstanding is when a business undergoes a restructuring or reorganization that results in employees being let go which can also commonly be called a “lay off” as well. If an employee loses their job because they were dismissed due to the employer’s reorganization, that action still may be wrongful dismissal and the employee is entitled to compensation.

If you have been wrongfully dismissed, an employee has certain entitlements that are owed to them or that they should receive when the employee’s employment has been terminated by the employer. Employees are entitled to their legal entitlements that are set out under statutory regimes including the Canada Labour Code in the case of federal employees and Ontario’s Employment Standards Act in the case of provincial employees. These statutory regimes will address requirements for notice periods and severance pay entitlements, among other things.

Statutory entitlements are minimum statutory entitlements. However, under the common law a dismissed employee may be entitled to more. Termination pay is based on “reasonable notice.” Reasonable notice is simply the amount of time that an employer should provide the employee before the employee’s job ends. The length of this notice is determined based on a variety of factors. These factors include age, position, length of service and the ability to find new alternative employment. When an employer requires the employee to work during their notice period, this is called “working notice.”

Finally, other compensation may be explored that can be set out in a termination or severance package. Employees could be entitled to other benefits such bonus pay, stock options, insurance coverage, unused vacation or sick days or even RRSP or pension contributions.

What should you do if you have been laid off or wrongfully dismissed?

Experiencing a dismissal can be very distressing for those employees who must go through it. However, there are steps that employees can take to ensure that their rights to things like notice upon termination and severance pay are protected.

1. Do not immediately sign any termination or severance package. No employee should simply take what the employer has offered them at face value. They may be entitled to more than what the employer has initially offered them. For example, commonly employers will offer only amounts that are the statutory minimums with a little be on top as “gratuitous pay.” However, this pay is not “gratuitous” at all and may often be significantly less than the employee is legally entitled to receive.
2. Collect all your relevant employment documents. The documents that you would need to have would be your employment agreement or contract, any relevant company policy, termination letter, any termination or severance package that was offered, etc. You are entitled to request from your employer to be provided with all of the relevant paperwork including any copies of job offers and employment agreements.
3. Contact an employment lawyer to see whether what your employer has offered in the termination or severance offer is fair.

At Zeilikman Law, we have helped many professionals who work in all types of industries — including federal employees and their private sector provincial counterparts — protect their employment rights when they have experienced a dismissal. Zeilikman has written many blogs and articles on wrongful dismissal in a variety of industries, please see:

• Bank of Canada Layoffs: Your Rights as a Federal Employee
• Mass Layoffs and Terminations in the Tech Industry
• Business Challenges in the Food Delivery Industry Leads to Employee Dismissals

If you’re an employee who has been affected by Bell Canada reducing jobs, call Zeilikman Law at (905) 417-2227 today or contact us here for a confidential consultation.