Fired Without Cause?

What makes a dismissal “wrongful”?

It's simpler than it sounds. You were wrongfully dismissed if your employer let you go without paying the severance you're actually owed. It has nothing to do with whether they were cruel or unfair about it. The reason almost never matters either: a restructuring, a slowdown, or no reason at all is legal, as long as the severance is right. What makes it wrongful is that the cheque was too small.

How much is a wrongful dismissal claim worth?

Almost always more than you'd guess, and more than they offered. It's based on your age, your role, and how long you worked there, measured in months, not weeks. There's no week-per-year rule. Bonus, commission, car allowance, benefits, and pension count too, not just base salary. The Employment Standards Act minimum is the floor; the common-law amount on top of it is usually much higher.

Were you actually dismissed?

You don't always get a letter. The law can treat you as dismissed even when no one said the word:

If you're effectively out of work, you may already be owed severance.

The deadline on the offer isn't the real one

That deadline is the employer's, not the law's. Your rights don't vanish when it passes; it's there to get your signature before you get advice. The only real clock in Ontario is the two-year limit to start a claim. And don't rely on the Ministry of Labour to tell you the number, they only enforce the minimum, and filing there can cost you the right to claim the full amount in court.

What if you already signed, or took the money?

A signed release usually ends it, and courts hold people to what they signed, but not always: if it paid below the legal minimum, you were pressured, or the terms were wildly one-sided, it may not hold. And money they already deposited is yours to keep, taking it doesn't mean you accepted it as final. The only thing that ends your claim is signing the release.

Before you respond

Severance is negotiable, and employers expect it; the first offer is the lowest number they think they can get away with. What moves it is a credible case for the real figure, backed by the law. You can handle it yourself, but it's easy to leave money behind once benefits, bonus, and the contract wording come into play. The review is free, and we work on contingency.