Fiona Martyn, an employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, an employment and labour legislation agency in Toronto, recommends taking your severance bundle to a lawyer for overview earlier than signing something. Though you signed an employment contract upon being employed, typically the termination clauses are unenforceable, because the legislation could have modified throughout your tenure. “What [an employment lawyer] can do is make it easier to negotiate a greater severance bundle which displays components like your age, size of service and place. Severance packages assist to bridge the [financial] hole till you discover a new job,” she says.
That’s precisely what Michael did (final identify withheld for privateness causes). Michael, who lives in Toronto, misplaced his job at a big tech firm in 2019. “I noticed the writing on the wall from a mile away,” he says. “I began getting my geese in a row.” He was upset together with his settlement supply—the corporate let him go solely weeks earlier than his inventory choices would have vested, so his complete compensation bundle was a lot decrease than he anticipated.
Michael instantly went to a lawyer. “By getting a powerful letter from [my lawyer], I used to be in a position to get an additional month of severance,” he says. For the one-hour assembly and the letter, he paid $500, which was solely a small share of the extra severance pay he subsequently obtained.
How you can discover an employment lawyer in Canada
You may contact the regulatory group in your province or territory—just like the Legislation Society of Ontario or the Legislation Society of British Columbia—for a referral to a professional employment lawyer. These organizations oversee the observe of legislation and set up requirements of competence for legal professionals in every province and territory.
When to use for unemployment insurance coverage
What’s EI? EI used to check with “unemployment insurance coverage,” however the right time period is now “employment insurance coverage.” EI offers revenue to Canadians who’ve misplaced their jobs via “no fault of their very own” for as much as 45 weeks, or simply over 10 months. The utmost quantity you possibly can obtain is 55% of your wage, as much as $650 per week.
EI begins when you find yourself now not receiving severance pay out of your employer. To be eligible, it’s important to be out of labor and receiving no pay for a minimum of seven consecutive days, and it’s important to have been terminated with out trigger. It’s best to apply for EI as quickly as you get laid off, no matter whether or not your employer provided a severance bundle, Martyn says. You may apply on the identical day you get laid off—even in the event you don’t but have the required paperwork. For those who do have severance, merely inform Service Canada, which administers the EI program, and it’ll put your EI funds on maintain till that interval ends. And in the event you discover one other job earlier than then, you gained’t want EI.
3 methods to arrange for a potential job loss in Canada
Kurt Rosentreter, a senior monetary advisor at Manulife, presents these tricks to reduce the potential affect of a brief job loss.
1. All the time keep marketable
To organize for potential job loss, you’ll wish to keep marketable—this will help you discover one other job rapidly, says Rosentrer. And one of the best ways to do this is to refresh your LinkedIn profile, get new certificates in your subject and maintain networking. Don’t be complacent about your abilities.