1. Did the company only offer the minimum termination pay under the Employment Standards Code?
Most employees are owed common law notice rather than just the minimum legislated amounts under the Employment Standards Code. This is assessed by looking at a variety of factors such as length of service, age, title etc. Even if your employer indicates that under the Code they are offering an extra week or month, it is worth your while to have your severance package reviewed with a lawyer because common law notice provisions, (judge made cases), can be significantly more than the minimum amounts under the Code.
2. Is the company asking you to sign a release?
If you are asked to sign a release to receive your termination pay or severance pay, it is important to speak to a lawyer. If you sign a Release, you typically cannot go back later and sue the company for anything related to your employment. You need to understand what you are signing and if what they are offering you, in terms of compensation, is fair.
3. If it seems really low to you, or too good to be true, get it reviewed!
A really low offer and conversely, what you seem to consider is a really generous offer are both red flags to most experienced employment lawyers. Most often packages have not quantified all the damages and compensation that an employee is entitled to and as such, without consulting with an employment lawyer, you will never know if you left any forms of compensation on the table.
4. Have your benefits been extended or has the company given you an amount in lieu of lost benefits?
Severance offers should include either an amount of money for lost benefits or an extension of those benefits. How much that payment should be or how long those benefits are extended can be complicated. Also which benefits are considered by an employer is another issue that an experienced employment lawyer can assist with as not all benefits are compensable.
5. Are you close to early retirement or retiring from the company?
The amount of your severance offer may or may not be impacted by how far you are into your career and whether you intend to retire anytime soon. Also, the items included in your offer may also differ such as early pensions, retiree benefits etc. Like many areas of law, the specific situation that you are in may have a bearing on what you may receive so it’s important to get the offer reviewed by an experienced employment lawyer.
6. Are there any allegations of human rights violations or discrimination by the company?
If there has been any discriminatory conduct on the part of the company or its personnel either prior to or during the termination, you may have an argument to increase the severance offer or file a complaint to the Alberta Human Rights Commission potentially. A severance review lawyer will know how to leverage the discriminatory conduct on the part of the employer to increase your compensation.
7. Have you found another job already?
This is the law of mitigation and plays a very important role in deciding if you should accept the offer or not. The other factor is that some severance offers require a former employee to agree to non-compete or non-solicit provisions within the agreement or release. By accepting a new job, you need to know if you are in breach of the severance requirements and the severance agreement between the parties.
8. Were you on maternity, parental, sick or disability leave when you were terminated?
If you were on a valid leave at the time of termination, you may have an argument for increased severance. You may also have a valid complaint to Alberta Employment Standards and the Alberta Human Rights Commission if the termination occurred and the leave was a factor in the employer’s decision to terminate.
9. Is the Company recognizing your entire length of service?
How long you have worked for an employer will affect how much termination pay and/or severance pay they are required to give you. Determining the length of your service or employment is not always as easy as it seems. Amalgamations, outright purchases of companies and even a change in payroll providers can make determining your length of service tricky. The length of your service with your current company may also be longer than you think in specific situations if you were you actively recruited or enticed away from another secure position to join the company offering you a severance package. Its important to run these issues by an experienced employment lawyer.
10. For your own sanity and to know whether you have been treated fairly by the employer.
Being terminated is stressful for everyone. By seeking sound legal advice from an employment lawyer, you will be reducing the stress of knowing if the employer has treated you fairly or not. I like to think that I bring calm to chaos for my clients. Don’t just accept the first offer, and make sure that you are confident that the employer has presented a fair offer to you and your family during these stressful times.
For more information on severance package reviews and my flat rate fees, please contact kim at Sunstone Legal.
