Job Abandonment in Ontario: When Can Your Employer Say You Quit?
Employers sometimes claim an employee abandoned their job to avoid paying severance. The legal bar is high, and a claimed abandonment is often really a dismissal.
Key takeaways
- "Job abandonment" means the employer treats you as having quit by your conduct.
- The bar is high: the employer must show you clearly and unequivocally intended to abandon your job.
- Missing a few shifts, a misunderstanding, or being on leave is usually not abandonment.
- Employers sometimes wrongly claim abandonment to avoid paying [severance](/blog/severance-pay-ontario).
- If they got it wrong, it is really a dismissal, and you may be owed severance.
In this article
"You abandoned your job" is something employers say more often than the law allows, usually when they would rather not pay severance. Like a forced resignation, abandonment has to be real, and the standard for proving it is high.
✅Quick answer. Job abandonment is when an employer treats you as having resigned based on your conduct, such as not showing up. But it is only valid if the employer can show you clearly and unequivocally intended to give up your job. Missing shifts, a miscommunication, illness, or being on leave is usually not enough. If the employer wrongly calls it abandonment, it is really a dismissal, and you may be owed severance.
What is job abandonment?
Job abandonment is the idea that an employee has quit through their actions rather than their words, typically by stopping showing up and being unreachable. If genuine, it can end the employment without the employer owing termination pay. The key word is genuine.
The bar is high
Courts do not lightly find that someone abandoned their job, because the consequence, losing your entitlements, is serious. The employer has to show that, viewed objectively, you clearly and unequivocally intended to no longer be bound by the employment relationship. Ambiguity is generally resolved in the employee's favour.
What usually is not abandonment?
- Missing a few shifts, especially with an explanation.
- A misunderstanding about your schedule or status.
- Being absent due to illness, injury, or a protected leave.
- Staying away during a dispute, or after being told to leave, which may be a dismissal or forced resignation.
When a claimed abandonment is really a dismissal
If your employer declares that you abandoned your job when you did not clearly intend to quit, the law can treat that as the employer ending the relationship, in other words, a dismissal. That means you may be owed the same severance as any without-cause termination, plus you can correct the record for EI purposes.
What should you do if you are accused of abandoning your job?
- 1.Respond in writing, explaining your absence and making clear you did not intend to quit.
- 2.Keep records of your communications and any reasons for being away.
- 3.Do not let a false abandonment label stand, especially on your Record of Employment.
- 4.Get advice. A free review can confirm whether you were really dismissed.
Frequently asked questions
Can my employer say I abandoned my job in Ontario?
Only if it can show you clearly and unequivocally intended to quit. Missing shifts, a misunderstanding, or being on leave is usually not enough. A wrongly claimed abandonment is really a dismissal.
How many missed shifts count as job abandonment?
There is no fixed number. What matters is whether, objectively, you intended to give up your job. Absences with an explanation, or during a dispute or leave, generally do not amount to abandonment.
My employer says I quit, but I did not. What can I do?
Respond in writing that you did not intend to resign, keep records, and correct your Record of Employment. If they treated you as having abandoned your job wrongly, it is a dismissal and you may be owed severance.
Is job abandonment the same as being fired?
If the abandonment claim is not valid, then in effect the employer ended the relationship, which is a dismissal. You may be owed the same severance as any without-cause termination.
Daniel Carter
Legal Writer, Mirza Law
Daniel Carter is a legal writer at Mirza Law in Toronto. He writes about layoffs, employment contracts, and the steps to take before you sign anything from your employer.
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