What to Know When You Have Been Fired Without Cause

 Being fired is never a good experience and often comes with a lot of stress. Not only you have not been given any reason for the termination, but chances are that some of your rights are also being disrespected. It is in times like this that having a lawyer to represent you and your best interest can make all of the difference. Luckily, there are workers’ rights are protected in Canada, and there are plenty of lawyers in Calgary who can help you in this trying time.

Whenever your employer wants to terminate a relationship between the company and their employees, they must have a valid non-discriminatory reason to do so. However, how can you determine if your termination had a valid cause or not? And most importantly, what can you do next? To answer these questions, it is always best to consult with employment lawyers calgary, but it is possible to grasp the idea from a few simple topics.

What is “Cause”?

To understand what is termination without cause, first, we must analyse what configures “cause”. Putting it simply, the cause is any valid non-discriminatory reason for the employer to sever your contract with the company before the expected end date if any. It does not have to be anything that you, the worker, did to deserve it, but rather a handful of varying reasons.

The cause can include, but is not limited to, a restructuring of the company, cost cutting, realignment of values, or serious work misconduct—such as not being on time constantly, or poorly conducting your tasks and responsibilities. Depending on the severity of the reason, the employer may terminate the employment relationship on the spot, while still providing reasonable notice, but for most of those causes, they need to give the employee enough properly written warnings.

The employer must also explain in detail why they are choosing termination. The cause cannot just be a placeholder reason on paper when in reality the business owner simply wanted to fire someone. If you question the validity of your employment contract termination, you can—and should—inquiry a lawyer about it, especially if you suspect wrongdoing. 

What is “Reasonable Notice”?

In the case that your job was terminated with a valid cause, there are still rights and obligations with which the parties must comply. The first, and most important, is the right of reasonable notice. 

This term is defined by law as the notice of severance between you and your employer and the appropriate time for it to happen. That is, the amount of time that you can still work with the company while you look for another job, knowing that you have been fired. 

It is important to realise that if you have been working for the employer for less than three months, no notice is necessary. However, if you are working for more than that, your boss must provide you with at least one week of notice. As the time for reasonable notice increases with how long the employee has been at the company, so employees with more than a decade of service have a minimum time of two months.

If reasonable notice isn’t possible then payment in lieu of notice must come in place, and often employers do a mix of both. Everything must be documented for the security of both parties.

Severance Package

When an employee is being terminated without cause, it is extremely important that they get in contact with an employment lawyer to ensure their rights are being protected and a fair severance package is being received. If a severance package isn’t fair, then the employee may have a wrongful dismissal claim.

How much a severance package is minimally fair depends on how long you have been working for the company. As per the Employment Standards Code of Alberta, the amounts due – without taking into consideration other factors – are:

  • One week’s pay for three months to two years of employment

  • Two weeks’ pay for two to three years of employment

  • Three weeks’ pay for three to four years of employment

  • Four weeks’ pay for four to six years of employment

  • Five weeks’ pay for six to eight years of employment

  • Six weeks’ pay for eight to ten years of employment, and

  • Eight weeks’ pay for 10 years or more of employment

Other factors that weigh on the severance payment are age, health, availability of alternative employment, position, salary, and benefits. The employer can own up to 24 months of pay. Similarly, the employer must also pay any due wages, overtime, holiday and vacation pay within three days.

Other factors may benefit the employer, and it is important to take note of those as well. Your boss may not be required to pay you severance if you worked less than three months, if you worked on call, if the nature of your job was temporary, if the contract ends, if you refuse alternative employment, etc. The only way of knowing for sure what your former employer owes you, in case you have any doubts, is to ask an employment lawyer.

Obligations and Rights

In any termination scenario, both the employer and the employee have rights and obligations that they must follow, and it is essential that workers have knowledge of what they must do and, more importantly, what their employers can do. 

For example, some employers will offer severance pay and have a deadline for you to accept it or not. You do not need to accept this offer by the deadline, as your rights will not expire after it. This is a pressure tactic from employers to offer poor severance offers, not allowing time for the workers to consult with a lawyer first. Do not be mistaken: You are most times owed much more.

The employer is also prohibited from asking the employee to use entitlements such as vacation or overtime during the termination period unless this is agreed upon by both parties. Before you sign any documents, however, it is best that you check with a legal team if everything is in order.

However, if you are terminated and only, later on, find out that something was not quite right regarding your employment relationship, you can still seek justice. Under Alberta’s employment laws and regulations, you have two years to pursue your employment rights, so being accompanied by an employment lawyer will help you greatly.


Employment laws are constantly breached in Alberta, sometimes due to ignorance or misinterpretation of the laws, and sometimes maliciously. Hiring an employment lawyer in Calgary will greatly aid you in ensuring your rights are being protected and that you are receiving fair compensation for your labour.

The Ministry of Labour can help you with the minimum entitlements under the Employment Standards Act of Alberta, which most times sum up to one or two weeks of pay per year of service. Once you file a claim with the Ministry of Labour, you lose your right to hire an employment lawyer for the matter at hand. For that reason, it is in your best interest to schedule the first meeting with a legal team before you proceed with your claims, and so decide what is the best guide for you.


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