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Termination

What do I do if my employer ends my employment?

When the Employer/Employee Ends the Employment

What happens when an employer fires, suspends or lays off a worker? If you are a worker under the Employment Standards Act, that is, if you are a worker who is not a member of a labour union or if you are an employer with employees who have no union, then this information may be important to you.

Under the Employment Standards Act, an employer must tell an employee in writing that he/she intends to fire, suspend or lay off that employee. This is called giving notice. "Notice" is the letter telling the employee that he/she will no longer work for the employer after a given date. It is also the time between when the employee receives the letter and the date the letter says is the employee's last day of work.

How much notice an employer must give an employee depends on how long the employee was employed. The following table shows the notice times for each period of employment.

How Much Notice in Writing?

If the Employee has worked for: Then the Employer must give: Then the Employee must give:

Less than 6 months No notice required No notice required

More than 6 months, but less than 5 years 2 weeks 1 week

More than 5 years but less than 10 years 4 weeks 2 weeks

More than 10 years but less than 15 years 6 weeks 2 weeks

More than 15 years 8 weeks 2 weeks

If the employer does not want to give the employee notice, he/she must give him pay in lieu of (in place of) notice. This means that he/she pays him/her as much pay as he would receive if he/she worked for his/her notice period.

The Right to End Employment Without Notice (Just Cause)

There are times when an employer does not have to give an employee notice or pay in lieu of notice when ending the employee's job. In order to end an employee's job without notice or pay in lieu of notice, the employer must show that he/she:

had made his/her expectations clear to the employee
has warned the employee to change his/her behaviour
has warned him/her that not improving his/her behaviour could lead to him/her being fired

This kind of action would be acceptable if, for example, he/she was late for work again and again. Of course, there are times, such as when an employer can prove that he/she had a good reason to fire the employee because, for example, the employee has stolen. Then he/she can fire him/her without warning or notice.

It is important to know that the Employment Standards Board and the Employment Standards Division have said over the years that ending an employee's job is not always the best way to handle problems with an employee. In some cases, progressive discipline may be used to deal with problems.

Progressive Discipline

Depending on the problem the employer is having with an employee, it may be better to correct the problem by using progressive discipline than by ending the employee's job. Progressive discipline can begin with spoken warnings, move to written warnings and suspensions, and then end with firing the employee. For example, an employee who has trouble learning the job may just need several spoken and written warnings. The discipline must depend on how severe the problem is.

Condonation

Another condition that the Employment Standards Board and the Employment Standards Division consider is condonation. Condonation means that the employer has not corrected a behaviour in the past. Condonation is an issue when, for example, an employer ignores an employee's poor performance at work and then one day fires the employee for the same poor performance.

The Employment Standards Board and the Labour Standards Division say that an employee has to be told that the employer will no longer allow the poor performance. The employee must understand what will happen if his/her performance does not improve.

When the Employer Gives Notice

When an employer has given the employee proper notice that the job is ending, the employer:

may not change the employee's rate of pay or any other condition of employment, such as benefits
may not require the employee to use remaining vacation during the notice period unless the employee agrees
must pay the employee all the wages he/she is entitled to receive at the end of the notice period

The Guide to Employment Standards is available online as a PDF document.

Contact

Charlottetown

J. Elmer Blanchard Building

Yeo, Robert (Chief Labour Standards Officer)