Know What Your Compensation Should Be Before Termination Happens

Toronto Labour Lawyer Brian Bell: I get calls from all sorts of individuals in different levels of jobs who have been let go. The most common statement I hear is that the termination was “not fair." They didn't see it coming, and what they received in compensation didn't meet with their expectations. From the most junior executive on up to a member of the board, if someone is terminated, a phone call to a lawyer usually has to do with this concept of fairness.

In July 2013, Alarm Force Chief Executive Joel Matlin was ousted from the company he founded in 1988. You may remember he personally did many of the radio commercials for the company.

Mr. Matlin has since commenced an action claiming the termination was against the specific terms of his contract. The total amount of the claim is approximately $11.3 million.

The reason I bring up this specific matter is to show that no individual is guaranteed any level of security in the workplace. Everyone - even the President and CEO - reports to someone. In any given instance, at any given time, we can find ourselves out of work. The issue then becomes whether we have been treated fairly by our former employer. In Mr. Matlin’s case, he feels he was not and is filing a claim. Whether Mr. Matlin is deemed correct will eventually be determined by the Courts, unless settlement is reached.

For the rest of us, we need to know to what we are entitled, but we should know this well before something drastic happens. We need to know our entitlements not at the end of the employment relationship when we are being escorted from the workplace, but before we start our first day of employment.

While no one can guarantee anything, having all of the parameters outlined will lower the risk of having to proceed with a specific claim.

Brian Bell is a Labour and Employment Lawyer with Pace Law Firm in Toronto.