Terminated without cause.

[duc_evo_sp]

I got let go or terminated or fired without any cause.

The letter composed of the following.

Dear Employee,

The purpose of the letter is to confirm that effective today, February 6, 2014, your services with blank company Inc will no longer be required. We are of the view that our relationship is not working and it is the best interest of both parties that we part company at the time.

You will be paid all earning including unpaid vacation to today, February 6,2014. Your entitlement of 4 weeks of severance pay under the B.C. Employment Standards Act will be sent under separate cover. Your Record of Employment will be filed electronically with Service Canada within five business days after the end of the pay period.


I worked for the company for 4.5 years and I didn't receive any verbal warnings. I haven't gotten any levels of reprimand. Basically, I played it by the book for 4.5 years of service.

Anyways, do you guys think I should let it go and take the 4 week severance and move on? Or should I lawyer up and fight for more money because I didn't do anything wrong?

Honest input would be helpful, thanks.

[vafanculo]

You probably need to include more information..

What industry?
What was your position?
Unionized?
How big is the company/how many employees? Mom n pop shop? Anyone else get fired as well?
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[Alby]

what is your company's policy for terminating employees?

[radioman]

Hope this helps;

Compensation eligibility
An employee who is terminated may be eligible for compensation based on the following formula:

After three consecutive months of employment – one week’s pay;
After 12 consecutive months of employment – two weeks’ pay;
After three consecutive years – three weeks’ pay, plus one week’s pay for each additional year of employment to a maximum of eight weeks.
A week’s pay is calculated by:

Totalling the employee’s wages, excluding overtime, earned in the last eight weeks in which the employee worked normal or average hours; and
Dividing the total by eight.

Ministry of Labour, Government of B.C., Employment Standards Branch, Termination Factsheet

[evlee]

damn sorry to hear, i had experience this before and management could not give me a reason except "relationship is not working out"(same as you) i did my job 101% and all co-workers likes me so did clients, in the end i got paid my vacation, severance, bonuses. and was out the same day. in the following days it bothered me not knowing the true facts on my termination. i tried seeking help from a lawyer friend and bottomline the company did everything by the book and nothing i can do. it sucks because i love that job and co workers.

[Lomac]

Are you union or working under a contract?

[duc_evo_sp]

Its a multi-million privately owned "family" company.
Its a non-union.
There wasn't a employment contract.
I was in a regular warehouse position.

Employment Standards Act is just a guide but not concrete guide line.

From what I researched, people who accept whatever their employer offers but they can consult a lawyer and ask for more severance.

[Euro7r]

Do you plan to use them as a reference or put them on your resume for future job applications? Going the lawyer route and maybe milk them for more money might not be the wisest career decision. They might give you a crappy reference and try to get back at you. As you said, you worked by the book and didn't do anything wrong, you'll get good reference for your future job applications elsewhere. Leaving things on a good note is all that can be done. That's my thoughts.

[duc_evo_sp]

I am also concerned about being eligible for EI Benefits too.

[nabs]

Sorry to hear, It looks like it may be a layoff but you would have to see the ROE to be sure. You can always plead your case to the EI office and they will hear you out, they are usually pretty good with that. My only suggestion is to apply for EI right away, like today, just so that you can get passed the wait time and all that stuff as soon as possible to maximize it.

It sucks, Ive been through it earlier this year, but just take the time to re-evaluate yourself and what you want out of a career and start searching again.

[Berzerker]

They did it by the book offering severance in lieu of letting you work out the notice period.

I'm guessing after 4.5 years your wage increased somewhat? If it's just a position anyone can fill, like warehousing, it's easy to find cheaper labour so long term employees with high wages don't make financial sense.
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[stewie]

Originally Posted by Euro7r

Do you plan to use them as a reference or put them on your resume for future job applications? Going the lawyer route and maybe milk them for more money might not be the wisest career decision. They might give you a crappy reference and try to get back at you. As you said, you worked by the book and didn't do anything wrong, you'll get good reference for your future job applications elsewhere. Leaving things on a good note is all that can be done. That's my thoughts.

isn't giving a bad reference a big no no? I heard it was defamation and could result in a lawsuit if it were to cause you to lose out on a future job. or is that only is America???

there was a guy who stole thousands of $$$ in goods where I work and he was let go only to be hired in the same position elsewhere. all his reference was able to say was "he was not right for the position here" or "things didn't quite work out as well as they'd hoped" etc.

anyone know?

[skiiipi]

Originally Posted by stewie

isn't giving a bad reference a big no no? I heard it was defamation and could result in a lawsuit if it were to cause you to lose out on a future job. or is that only is America???

there was a guy who stole thousands of $$$ in goods where I work and he was let go only to be hired in the same position elsewhere. all his reference was able to say was "he was not right for the position here" or "things didn't quite work out as well as they'd hoped" etc.

anyone know?

as long as the reference was given in good faith then its fine, basically if the purpose of ur reference isn't to screw the guy out of a job, they cant really sue.
But most companies have internal policies in place to keep references very vague and just basically to verify employment. And they either left on "mutual terms" or they left on "their own terms".

[duc_evo_sp]

The ex-company actually hired 20-30 people so they might be cleaning house. Out with the old top rate labor. And in for cheaper newer labor.

I think I have to find out what the ROE says.

[Eff-1]

It doesn't sound like a lawyer would be much help to you unless you feel your employer discriminated and unfairly or illegally terminated you. In your case, unfortunately you were fired for no reason, but they gave you your entitled severance. The other consideration is lawyers cost big dollars -- $300/hr on average. Instead, this link gives you a good rundown of what's legal and what's not: CBA British Columbia - 280

You're most likely still eligible for EI benefits, unless there is proof you were dismissed because of misconduct on your part, or you voluntarily left your position when you didn't need to.

[aalex]

look like its the computer warehouse I used to work for
they like to lay people off and periodically so they pay less for new staff

[FishTaco]

8 years ago, I worked at Culligan in Kelowna, we had some guy come from head office to get rid of a bunch of people. My supervisor Jeff was a useless tit and blamed me for the work he didn't do and I was fired.

I contacted the labour board and the first question was, "are you unionized?". We weren't so I was told that I can be fired for anything, even the color of shirt I wear.

I ended up applying for E.I. to whom which I had to explain what had happened. They ended up giving me max pay though based upon what I had told them.

[saucywoman]

I was laid off and was eligible for ei, you will be too but I would recommend filing immediately. Even though you don't have roe you can hand it in later. It takes a few weeks for ei to get approved and you will have the 4 week severance added on to your 2 week waiting period so plan on about 6-8 weeks of non payment.
Ei I believe is only non-applicable if you quit for no legit reason or fired for just cause, since they're paying you severance obviously there's no legit reason so I wouldn't see why you're not eligible. Google ei application and start tomorrow morning, or even tonight if you read this in time. Good luck and I know how it feels. Sorry to hear
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[duc_evo_sp]

A sincere thanks to everyone's advice. Truth be told, I didn't really enjoy my "job" and never was really set on being there forever. The money was good relative to lower mainland income but its time to move on to a "career" rather than a "job".

[B!tch]

Some general info regarding getting sacked....

The link Radioman provided above is correct however it isn't the only thing to consider.

Employment Standards Act of BC sets out the minimum notice or severance in lieu of notice that an employer must provide. However, common law, which is law developed the courts as in previous judgements, has established that employees are entitled to "reasonable notice" of termination, which can be much more than what is required by statute. Reasonableness depends on several factors including the character and length of employment, the employee's age, gender, experience, training and qualifications, and the availability of similar employment.

In your case, it doesn’t sound like you are close to retirement, have acquired post-secondary educations nor are you working in a specialized field that would make it hard for you to find another position. Meaning if you were a 60 year old man with a double PhD and a job where there was only five positions in the entire country you would be owed more severance or working notice than a 20-something, high school graduate working in a warehouse.

For future reference, in my opinion you have an advantage if you have signed a written contract with your employer as the details in the contract will determine how much notice you will be given if you are let go in the future. Of course a contract cannot offer what is less than ESA.

My only question to you is are they asking you to sign a release? If so they cannot require you to sign the release if they are just providing you with the notice or severance pay required by the ESA. The severance they are offering would have to be in excess of the ESA.

In regards to you question about EI, you can still collect EI if you were fired. Your employer is going to complete your ROE saying you were dismissed. A Service Canada employee is going to call your former employer and ask why you were dismissed. As there was no just cause, ie, they are paying you to go away not just walking you out the door because you did something wrong, Service Canada will allow your EI claim.

Your last post is the most interesting to me and will make me earn my user name…You really think that your employer wasn’t away that you “didn’t really enjoy” your job?

My favorite quote when deciding to hire or fire “I can train for the skill but not the attitude” Meaning I will take someone with a good attitude and less experience over someone with the right education and experience and a “bad” attitude, within reason.

I don’t know why some on this board get all horny for “are you unionized?” Dude wouldn’t be asking the questions that he is if he is unionized.

[mr_chin]

To answer your question, no you should not get a lawyer. In your case, they will not get you anymore than you are receiving. People get lawyer to fight a case where they are not getting severance pay or the termination pay.

Look at it on the good side, at least you're eligible for EI while you look for another job. Also, if your future employer ask why you were dismissed, you have prove you didn't do anything wrong. Take it as a sign that it's time to move on.

[Mr.HappySilp]

It depends on why they fire you. If they said they fire you coz of work shortage and right after hire someone else to take your place, you could sue them.

[B!tch]

Originally Posted by Mr.HappySilp

It depends on why they fire you. If they said they fire you coz of work shortage and right after hire someone else to take your place, you could sue them.

Really? What would he sue for?

[Mr.HappySilp]

Originally Posted by B!tch

Really? What would he sue for?

Well they could fire you and have someone replace with a lower salary. I am not 100% sure but I read it somewhere that if you got let go due to shortage of work and now the company wants to hire again because there is more work now they have to try to hire the people they fire first before hiring someone new.

Is to prevent company from firing someone simply their wage is too high and the company is trying to replace them which a new hire who works for less.

[duc_evo_sp]

LOL, just got my vacation and severance. Its very bitter sweet. When you work with people you see more than your family, they become your work family. Kinda bummed out from that aspect, but my boss's were "yes men" to the 9th degree. So I am glad that this happened soon than later.