Kingston, known as the Limestone City, is located on the eastern end of Lake Ontario. Kingston is home to a Canadian Forces Base, post-secondary institutions such as Queen’s University, hospitals and correctional facilities.
Kingston offers employment in a variety of settings such as transportation, tourism, museums, corrections, education, labour/distribution, medical and insurance.
If you live or work in Kingston and are facing issues with your employment, whether it be a wrongful dismissal, changes to your job duties, or you’ve just received a severance package and you are not sure what to do, the lawyers at Ertl Lawyers are here to help.
If you need employment lawyers in Kingston, Ertl Lawyers is here for you.
Who We Are: Kingston Employment Lawyers
Ertl Lawyers is a leading employment and disability law firm practicing in the GTA, including Kingston, Ontario.
We’ve helped thousands of clients get the severance pay and disability benefits they deserve.
Our mission as an employment and LTD lawyer has always been about better, faster results.
Learn more about us by visiting our team page.
What We Do: Employment Law
The experienced lawyers at Ertl Lawyers have developed a specific expertise in dealing with a wide array of employment law issues in Kingston, Ontario. If you are an employee facing a wrongful dismissal or an employer who isn’t sure how to implement a new policy, and you are located in Kingston, Ertl Lawyers can help you.
Ertl Lawyers has experience in a variety of cases including, but not limited to, the following areas:
Termination of Employment
Most often, Ertl Lawyers is contacted to evaluate a severance package that has been received because the employer has decided to terminate that individual without cause. This means that your employer has made changes to its business needs, such as downsizing or reorganization/restructuring, and you were caught in the crosshairs. When your employer terminates you without cause, then you are entitled to notice or pay in lieu of notice and/or severance pay.
In the case of employment termination in Ontario, it is likely that your employer has offered you a severance package that includes the notice or pay in lieu of notice and severance pay, if applicable, plus other compensation in exchange for you signing a release document. If this has happened to you, contact Ertl Lawyers, employment lawyers in Kingston, to have your severance package reviewed. You could be entitled to additional compensation.
Check out our Severance Package Calculator to see what your severance package entitlements could be.
Termination with Cause
If you have been terminated with cause, this means that your employer has found a reason such as poor performance, poor attendance or other misconduct that has led them to let you go. When this happens, your employer does not have to give you notice or pay in lieu of notice or any kind of severance package.
Conduct that an employer may rely on to terminate you for cause could include insubordination, gross incompetence, habitual neglect of duty, unauthorized absences, theft or fraud, dishonesty, lying to your employer during an investigation, breach of employer’s policies, or assaulting a co-worker.
While your employer may make allegations that your behaviour is cause and therefore you are not entitled to a severance package, your employer may be wrong. You might still be entitled to a severance package even if you were on a performance improvement plan or had attendance issues.
If your employer has terminated you for cause, don’t give up. Contact the Kingston employment lawyers, Ertl Lawyers, for more information or visit our Terminated with Cause webpage to learn more.
Constructive Dismissal
If you find that your employer has decided to change a fundamental aspect of your job without advance warning or your consent, such as significantly reducing your pay or hours of work, or deciding to have you commute to a location much further away, you may be eligible for a constructive dismissal claim.
Constructive dismissal claims are also available to individuals who find themselves in a work environment that has become impossible to continue to work at. For example, you are experiencing ongoing harassment and bullying, you have complained to your employer and they have taken no steps to remedy the harassment.
If you have experienced either of the above, or you aren’t sure if you have a constructive dismissal claim, Ertl Lawyers, Kingston employment lawyers, can help you. Contact us to find out more about your rights and visit our webpage on Ontario Constructive Dismissal for more information.
Ertl Lawyers: Kingston Employment Lawyers
For more information about what we do at Ertl Lawyers, visit our Employment Law page to find out more about how we can help you with your employment in Kingston.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much severance pay am I entitled to?
The legislation, either the Employment Standards Act, 2000 or the Canada Labour Code, determines the minimum amount of termination and/or severance pay you are entitled to when you are let go. However, you may be entitled to more than what the legislation provides; this is called the common law.
In order to figure out if you are entitled to common law severance in Ontario and not just the minimum amounts per the legislation, your employment contract will need to be assessed by an experienced Toronto employment lawyer, such as Ertl Lawyers.
Before accepting a severance package, contact Ertl Lawyers, employment lawyers in Kingston to have your contract and severance package reviewed.
Am I entitled to severance pay if I quit my employment?
In most cases, no you are not entitled to severance pay if you quit. There are a few exceptions depending on why you are quitting your job.
For example, if you quit your job because you were experiencing ongoing harassment that you reported numerous times but your employer allowed it to continue, you might be entitled to severance pay in this situation.
If you are thinking of resigning because of a bad situation at work or your employer is making changes that will negatively impact your job, contact Ertl Lawyers, Kingston employment lawyers, to determine if you will qualify for severance pay.
If you quit because you just didn’t want to work there anymore or you got a new job, you are not entitled to severance pay.
What is wrongful termination or wrongful dismissal?
Wrongful termination and wrongful dismissal mean the same thing and are interchangeable. It means that your employer has terminated you without cause and failed to provide you with a proper severance package (i.e., they didn’t offer you enough money). This is considered a wrongful dismissal in Toronto and across Ontario because you weren’t paid enough and has nothing to do with the reasons why you were being let go.
Does the reason for my termination matter?
Only if you were terminated for cause, otherwise, the reasons for your termination are not usually relevant.
When your employer terminates you for cause, they are required to provide you with a reason. There is a high threshold that the employer must meet in order to actually fire someone for cause, which means they are required to explain the reasons why.
If you are terminated without cause, the reason does not matter as much and does not have to be disclosed to you. The reasons for your termination, in a without cause situation, does not affect your severance package and therefore do not have to be disclosed to you.
If you were terminated because of your age, sex, religion, disability, etc., then it matters because it could potentially be a violation of the Ontario Human Rights Code.
How can the employment lawyers at Ertl Lawyers help me?
At Ertl Lawyers, we strive to get you the severance pay you deserve. We offer a variety of services which can help you achieve a better severance package, such as reviewing your employment contract and severance package, negotiate the terms of your severance package, start claims for wrongful dismissal or assist with applications for violations of your human rights.
Contact us today to find out more about how Ertl Lawyers can help you.
If you have more questions, Ertl Lawyers has answers. We offer free, downloadable guides on Understanding My Severance Package, Help! I Have Been Fired With Cause, Constructive Dismissal and Workplace Discrimination and Harassment.
You can also check out our YouTube video’s where David Ertl, Kingston Employment Lawyer and owner/founder of Ertl Lawyers explains topics such as what happens to your commissions after you are fired, how age can affect your severance pay, what happens to your pension when you are terminated and many more areas of interest.
Of course, you can always contact us for a free consultation over the phone with an experienced employment lawyer who can provide you with information relating to your case. The employment lawyers at Ertl Lawyers will take the time to review your case and assess your options.
Example Cases Won by Ertl Lawyers: Kingston Employment Lawyers
Ertl Lawyers was able to assist a terminated employee in the case of Summerfield v. Staples Canada Inc., 2016 ONSC 3656 (CanLII). Staples refused to provide proper severance to Ertl Lawyers’ client, who was a 39-year-old Account Manager with less than 5 years of service. Ertl Lawyers got the terminated employee six months’ full compensation, including salary and benefits – more than one month per year of service of the client.
Ertl Lawyers has helped thousands of clients get the severance they deserve. They can help you too.
Interested in learning more about Ertl Lawyers, Kingston employment lawyers, cases? Visit David Ertl’s biography webpage to find more.
Reviews: Ertl Lawyers, Kingston Employment Lawyers
We know that reviews from past clients are important in helping you make a decision on whether or not to hire us. If this is something you are interested in, please check out our client reviews page to read what others have thought about our services, especially those in Kingston.
Niagara Falls Employment Lawyer: Blog Posts
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Age and Severance Pay
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Videos: David Ertl, Kingston Employment Lawyer
How Much Severance Am I Entitled To?
PIP SHAM
How is Severance Pay Taxed ?
Contact Us: Employment Lawyers, Kingston
Do you live in Kingston? Do you travel to Kingston to work? Are you in need of expert help regarding your employment? Contact Ertl Lawyers, experienced employment lawyers in Kingston for help.
Our help can make all the difference.
