If you have been fired, or dismissed from your job, you may be wondering: Can your employer fire you? Were you entitled to notice that you were going to be dismissed? Can you get severance pay?

Employers have the right to fire employees for "just cause," meaning there was a good reason to fire you. But if you were fired without just cause, you have the right to advance notice, or severance pay if you don't get notice. If the employer doesn't give you notice or pay, it's called a wrongful dismissal.

Good starting points include:

• If You're Fired: Wrongful Dismissal, from the Canadian Bar Association BC Branch, is a factsheet that describes your options if you think you have been wrongfully dismissed or fired. It explains what is "just cause."
• Termination under the BC Employment Standards Act, from the Canadian Bar Association BC Branch, is a factsheet that describes the rules employers must follow when they fire an employee. It suggests options if you think the employer broke the rules.
• Termination of Employment Fact Sheet, from the provincial government, describes the rules that must be followed for layoffs. It explains how a dismissed employee's notice or compensation is calculated.
• Complaint Resolution and the BC Employment Standards Act Fact Sheet, from the provincial government, outlines the process for filing a complaint about an employer with the BC Employment Standards Branch.
• LSLAP Manual: Employment Law, from the UBC Law Students Legal Advice Program, has a section on termination of employment.

tags

getting fired or laid off, wrongful dismissal, employment standards, just cause, written notice or compensation