Toronto Employment Lawyers.
Your Rights. Your Severance.
Our Toronto employment lawyers at 55 University Avenue represent both employees and employers in wrongful dismissal, constructive dismissal, severance negotiations, and HRTO applications. Do not sign anything before we review your case.
Book a Free Consultation →55 University Avenue, Toronto | Wrongful Dismissal | Severance Review | HRTO Applications | Free Consultations
Most Severance Offers Fall Short. Our Job Is to Close the Gap.
Toronto is one of Canada’s largest employment markets, and one of the most complex. The city’s financial services, technology, media, healthcare, and professional services sectors employ hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom are terminated each year with severance offers that reflect the employer’s interests, not their legal entitlements.
The gap between what employers offer and what Ontario law requires can be enormous. An employee earning $100,000 per year with 10 years of service may receive an offer of 8 weeks’ pay. The ESA minimum. Under common law, the same employee may be entitled to 12–18 months of notice. That is a difference of $80,000–$130,000.
Our Toronto employment lawyers are graduates of Ontario's leading law schools and bring the full weight of Ontario employment law expertise to every severance negotiation and wrongful dismissal claim. We represent both employees and employers, bringing balanced perspective from both sides of the table.
Your Legal Team
Employment Law Services in Toronto
We represent both Toronto employees and employers in all aspects of employment law, from the moment a termination letter is issued through to settlement or trial.
Wrongful Dismissal
Wrongful dismissal occurs when an employer terminates an employee without providing proper notice or pay in lieu of notice. Most employers offer ESA minimums, but common law notice, calculated based on your age, seniority, position, and the availability of comparable work, is almost always significantly higher. Our Toronto wrongful dismissal lawyers review your specific situation, calculate your entitlement, and negotiate the maximum possible recovery.
We handle wrongful dismissal claims at every level: from sending a single demand letter that results in an improved offer, to filing claims at Ontario Superior Court and pursuing the matter to judgment when necessary. The majority of our wrongful dismissal files resolve through negotiation, efficiently, professionally, and without unnecessary litigation.
- Severance package review and negotiation
- Common law notice calculation
- Demand letters and employer negotiation
- Statement of claim drafting
- Mediation and settlement
- Ontario Superior Court litigation
- Bonus and commission disputes
- Benefits continuation enforcement
Constructive Dismissal
Constructive dismissal occurs when your employer makes a unilateral and significant change to a fundamental term of your employment, a major pay cut, demotion, forced relocation, removal of key responsibilities, or creation of a hostile work environment, without your consent. The law treats this as if you were fired. You can resign and claim wrongful dismissal notice from the date of the change.
Constructive dismissal cases are legally complex. The key questions are whether the change was significant enough to constitute a fundamental breach, and whether you acted promptly enough after the change to preserve your claim. These cases require an experienced employment lawyer to navigate correctly.
- Assessment of whether constructive dismissal has occurred
- Advice on timing and how to respond
- Negotiation with employer before resignation
- Post-resignation wrongful dismissal claim
- Protection of your legal position throughout
- HRTO applications where discrimination is involved
Severance Package Review
A severance package review is the single highest-ROI legal consultation most employees will ever have. We review your offer, calculate your common law entitlement based on your specific profile, identify any provisions that are unfair or missing (benefits continuation, bonus, equity), and give you a clear picture of what you are leaving on the table if you sign as-is. In most cases, a single lawyer’s letter results in a materially improved offer without any litigation.
- ESA entitlement calculation
- Common law notice assessment (Bardal factors)
- Release language review
- Bonus, commission, and equity review
- Benefits continuation verification
- Non-solicitation and non-compete clause review
- Counter-offer strategy
- RRSP retiring allowance planning
Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO)
The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) adjudicates complaints under the Ontario Human Rights Code. If your termination or workplace treatment was motivated by a protected ground, race, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age (over 18), or another enumerated ground. You may have an HRTO application in addition to a wrongful dismissal claim. These are separate proceedings with different remedies.
The HRTO can award damages for injury to dignity and feelings (which are not available in a wrongful dismissal claim), compensation for wage loss, and orders requiring the employer to change their practices. The limitation period for HRTO applications is one year from the last act of discrimination.
- Workplace discrimination claims
- Workplace harassment based on protected grounds
- Failure to accommodate disability
- Pregnancy and parental leave discrimination
- Age discrimination in termination
- HRTO application drafting and filing
- HRTO mediation and hearing representation
- Coordination with wrongful dismissal claims
Employment Contracts
Employment contracts often contain provisions that significantly affect your rights, particularly termination clauses, non-competition clauses, and non-solicitation clauses. Many termination clauses purport to limit your notice to ESA minimums, but a significant proportion of these clauses are legally unenforceable because they fail to comply strictly with the ESA. A void termination clause means common law notice applies instead.
We review employment contracts before you sign (new hires) and after termination (to assess enforceability). Since October 25, 2021, non-competition clauses in most Ontario employment contracts are void under the Working for Workers Act, a significant change that affects many employees who believe they are bound by non-competes.
- New employment contract review
- Termination clause enforceability assessment
- Non-compete clause review (post-Working for Workers Act)
- Non-solicitation clause review
- Bonus and commission structure review
- Independent contractor vs. employee classification
Toronto Employment Law FAQs
Visit Our Toronto Employment Law Office
Our Toronto employment lawyers at 55 University Avenue offer free initial consultations. We represent both employees and employers. Every consultation is confidential.
Lexaltico LLP, Employment Law
55 University Ave, Suite 1100
Toronto, ON M5J 2H7
Monday – Friday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Evenings & weekends by appointment
