A severance package lawyer in Mississauga reviews your termination offer, calculates the full compensation you are legally owed and negotiates for more when your employer’s package falls short.
If you were fired without cause, your employer must provide proper notice or compensation. The amount in your termination letter is not automatically your full entitlement. Many non-unionized employees are owed substantially more than the minimum amounts required by Ontario’s Employment Standards Act.
Before you sign a severance agreement or release, have the entire package reviewed—including your employment contract, salary, bonuses, commissions, benefits and other compensation.
On This Page:
- 1. When to Call a Severance Lawyer
- 2. How Much Severance Are You Owed?
- 3. What Should Be Reviewed?
- 4. Can You Negotiate Severance?
- 5. How Your Employment Contract Matters
- 6. What to Do After Getting an Offer
- 7. Why Choose Samfiru Tumarkin LLP?
When Should You Call a Severance Package Lawyer in Mississauga?
Speak with a severance package lawyer before accepting your employer’s offer or signing a release.
A review is especially important if:
- Your employer offered only a few weeks of pay
- You were told the offer is “standard” or “non-negotiable”
- You are a long-service or older employee
- Your compensation includes bonuses, commissions, benefits or equity
- Your employer says your contract limits your severance
- You were given only a few days to sign
- You were fired for cause and offered little or nothing
You don’t need to wait until there is a dispute. A severance review is most useful while you still have the option to accept the package, negotiate it or pursue a claim.
How Much Severance Are You Owed in Mississauga?
Your severance is not automatically one week per year of service, and Ontario’s employment-standards minimums are not necessarily your full entitlement.
Many non-unionized employees have greater rights under common law. The amount can depend on factors including:
- Your age
- Your length of service
- Your position and responsibilities
- The availability of similar employment
- Your employment contract
- Your complete compensation package
Depending on factors such as age, position, length of service and the availability of similar employment, common-law severance can reach 24 months’ pay.
For a complete explanation, read our guide to severance pay in Ontario.
What does “severance pay” mean in Ontario?
Employees often use “severance pay” to mean the entire termination package, but Ontario’s Employment Standards Act uses the term more narrowly.
Under the ESA, termination pay and statutory severance pay are separate entitlements. Statutory severance pay generally requires at least five years of employment plus the applicable employer payroll or permanent-closure requirements, and it is capped at 26 weeks.
Common-law severance is different and can be substantially greater. That is why the entire package must be reviewed rather than focusing on whether one line of the offer is labelled “severance pay.”
What Should a Severance Package Lawyer Review?
A proper severance review looks at much more than the number of weeks offered in your termination letter.
Your employment contract
Your contract can have a major impact on your entitlement. A valid termination clause can limit common-law rights, while an unenforceable clause can leave you entitled to significantly more.
Your complete compensation
A severance package should not necessarily be calculated using base salary alone. Depending on your employment terms, compensation during the notice period can involve:
- Salary or regular wages
- Bonuses
- Commissions
- Benefits
- Pension or RRSP contributions
- Equity or stock-based compensation
- Allowances and other regular compensation
The release and other conditions
A package often asks you to sign a release giving up the right to sue your employer. It can also contain confidentiality, non-disparagement, benefit, bonus and other terms that deserve review before you agree.
The reason your employment ended
The circumstances of your dismissal matter. A termination connected to disability, pregnancy, protected leave or another prohibited reason can involve legal rights beyond ordinary severance.
Can You Negotiate a Severance Package in Mississauga?
Yes. An employer’s first severance offer does not determine your full legal entitlement.
If the package is too low, a lawyer can explain what is missing, present the legal basis for additional compensation and negotiate directly with the employer or its lawyers.
The goal is not simply to ask for “more.” A strong severance negotiation starts by calculating what you are actually owed.
Our guide to negotiating a severance package in Ontario explains the process in more detail.
What if your employer says the offer is final?
Calling a severance offer “final” does not make an inadequate package legally sufficient.
Your legal rights do not disappear because an employer says it will not negotiate. The next step depends on the value of the claim, the employment contract and the difference between the package offered and the compensation legally owed.
How Does Your Employment Contract Affect Severance?
Your employment contract can significantly reduce or preserve your severance rights depending on whether its termination provisions are enforceable.
Employers often point to a termination clause and say that it limits an employee to the ESA minimums. Don’t assume that conclusion is correct simply because the clause is written in a signed contract.
Ontario termination-clause law is technical and continues to evolve. The complete agreement needs to be reviewed under current law.
If your employer is relying on a contract to limit your package, our employment contract lawyers in Mississauga can assess whether the provision actually applies.
What Should You Do After Receiving a Severance Package?
Take the documents home, don’t sign the release and determine your full entitlement before responding.
After you receive a termination package:
- Keep the complete offer. Save the termination letter, release and every attachment.
- Find your employment contract. Include older agreements if your employer changed the contract during your employment.
- Collect compensation documents. Keep bonus plans, commission agreements, benefits information and recent pay statements.
- Apply for EI promptly. You don’t need to wait for the severance negotiation to finish.
- Make reasonable efforts to find comparable work. This can be important to a common-law severance claim.
- Have the package reviewed before signing.
Should you file an Employment Standards claim?
Get legal advice before choosing between an Employment Standards claim and a civil wrongful dismissal claim.
Ontario employees can’t pursue both routes for the same termination and severance entitlements. An Employment Standards claim focuses on statutory minimums, while a wrongful dismissal claim can pursue greater common-law compensation where available.
If your package does not reflect your full rights, our wrongful dismissal lawyers in Mississauga can assess the appropriate route.
Why Choose Samfiru Tumarkin LLP for a Severance Package Review?
Samfiru Tumarkin LLP’s employment lawyers in Mississauga help non-unionized employees understand, negotiate and improve severance packages.
Our employment-law team regularly handles termination, severance, wrongful dismissal and employment-contract disputes for employees at every level—from hourly and salaried workers to managers and senior executives.
Our role is straightforward: determine what you are owed, explain your options clearly and take the appropriate steps to pursue the compensation you are entitled to receive.
Severance Package Lawyer Mississauga: Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a lawyer to review my severance package?
You are not legally required to use a lawyer, but you should know your full entitlement before signing a release. A lawyer can identify whether your contract, compensation or common-law rights make the package worth more than the employer offered.
Is severance one week per year worked?
No. There is no one-week-per-year formula for common-law severance in Ontario. Age, length of service, position and the availability of comparable work are among the important factors.
Can severance reach 24 months?
Yes. Common-law severance can reach 24 months’ pay in appropriate cases. The amount depends on the employee’s individual circumstances and any enforceable employment contract.
Do I have to accept my employer’s deadline?
No. A short employer-imposed signing deadline does not erase your legal entitlement. Ask for time to review the package and do not sign a release before understanding your rights.
What if I was fired for cause?
Don’t assume you are owed nothing simply because your employer alleges cause. If the employer can’t establish the legal threshold for cause, you can still be entitled to substantial termination compensation.
Speak With a Severance Package Lawyer in Mississauga
Your employer wrote the severance offer. That does not mean the offer represents everything you are owed.
If you are a non-unionized employee who has received a severance package in Mississauga or Peel Region, Samfiru Tumarkin LLP can review your termination, calculate your full entitlement and negotiate for additional compensation when the package falls short.
Before you sign the release, find out what your employment is actually worth.