It’s been a challenging few years for many Albertans (and the entire world). The economic climate has led to thousands of people in our province being “let go” as a result of cost cuts, restructuring, business closure, and more. In Alberta, if you were terminated without cause, there are laws in place to help protect you from being hung out to dry, so to speak. While employers are within their legal right to terminate an employee at any time, they must follow the rules of the Employment Standards Code and pay severance where severance is due.

If you were employed for more than 90 days…

Your employer must give you notice of termination (or pay in lieu of the time you would have worked). Depending on the length of your employment, the legal minimums (more on this later) could range anywhere from 1 to 8 weeks. Most employers will choose to pay you the money you would have earned while working during the notice period. This is generally known as “termination pay” and saves you from having to go back to work for the remainder of your employment.

You may be entitled to MORE than the legal minimums…

In addition to notice or termination pay, you may be eligible for severance pay. The amount of money you are entitled to depends on your employment agreement and other important factors like:

• Your age;
• Your title or role;
• The length of time you were employed;
• The reason for your termination;
• How you were let go;
• The nature of your work (i.e. Is it a specialized field?); or,
• The employment market.

Your severance payout is also dependant on the benefits you received and things like yearly bonuses, incentive programs, profit sharing, commissions, and more.

A lawyer can help with severance reviews, negotiations, and more…

We’ll take care of the legal work, while you focus on getting back to work.