Have you heard the ads on the AM radio stations lately? You know the ones that say “If you have been fired, don’t sign anything without calling XYZ law firm: we don’t get paid if you don’t get paid.” If you have not, you can bet your staff has, and this is part of what is driving up the increase in wrongful dismissal claims against employers in Ontario.
The law suit awards to employees are often in the one month/year of service range (much greater than the one week/year to a maximum of 8 weeks under the Employment Standards Act) – no wonder there is so much competition to represent the recently terminated.
As a law firm that only represents Employers, our job is to protect you from finding yourself having to pay a lot of money in lieu of notice. The way to do this is at the start of the Employment relationship, by having both parties sign and Employment Contract. This contract ensures that the employee knows exactly what could happen on termination and it provides the employer with certainty as to the cost of terminating an employee.
Drafting an Employment Contract must involve a lawyer as the law is constantly changing and you cannot contract out of certain requirements or the entire agreement is non-binding.
Before you make that next hire, give our firm a call, we’ll ensure you are well protected.