Six disciplines. One accountable team. Every client is matched with exactly the right expert.
From courtroom litigation to Fractional GC retainers to international market entry.
Founded on the conviction that the quality of your legal representation should have nothing to do with the size of your retainer.
Two-way referrals, co-counsel access, CPD sessions, mentorship and exclusive events.
Legal updates, firm news, webinar invitations, and award announcements.
Four GTA locations. Walk-in consultations. Weekend appointments. Every office staffed with senior counsel.
Free calculators, downloadable guides, and legal checklistsâbuilt by our lawyers for real Ontario situations.
Our Toronto severance pay lawyers at 55 University Avenue calculate your true ESA termination and severance pay entitlements, your common law reasonable notice, advise on whether your package is fair, and negotiate or litigate when employers underpay. Most employees who get a lawyer review their package receive significantly more.
Book a Free Consultation →55 University Avenue, Toronto | Severance Pay | ESA & Common Law Entitlements | Package Review & Negotiation | Free Consultations
When most Ontarians say "severance pay," they mean the entire termination package. The money an employer pays when ending the employment relationship. But under Ontario law, there are actually two separate statutory entitlements that can exist alongside each other: termination pay and severance pay. And above and beyond both, there is the common law reasonable notice entitlement.
Termination pay under the ESA is based on years of service, up to a maximum of 8 weeks for employees with 8 or more years. It is payable to virtually all employees on termination without cause. Severance pay under the ESA is a separate, additional entitlement available to employees with 5 or more years of service whose employer has a payroll of $2.5 million or more, or whose position is eliminated as part of a mass termination, up to 26 weeks.
Above these statutory minimums sits common law reasonable notice. The amount courts will award a dismissed employee who was not given adequate notice. For a 45-year-old manager with 12 years of service, that could easily be 14 to 18 months. For a senior executive, it could be more. The gap between what employers offer and what employees are legally owed is often enormous.
Our Toronto severance pay lawyers review hundreds of termination packages every year. We calculate the correct ESA entitlements (many employers miscalculate these), the common law reasonable notice based on the Bardal factors, and the value of any benefits and bonus entitlements during the notice period. We tell you exactly what you should have been paid, and we pursue it.
We appear in Ontario employment courts regularly. Here are the courts relevant to your matter.
Significant severance pay claims are brought in Ontario Superior Court. Most resolve before trial, at mediation or through negotiated settlement, but effective litigation posture requires court proceedings in appropriate cases.
ESA complaints about unpaid termination or severance pay can also be brought to the Ministry of Labour's Employment Standards Branch, a free enforcement mechanism available alongside civil court claims.
We advise Toronto employees at every stage, from reviewing the package on day one of termination through to court proceedings.
We review every component of your termination package: the termination letter, the Release and Full and Final Settlement, ESA calculations (which are frequently incorrect), notice period and PILON calculations, benefit continuation, bonus and commission treatment during the notice period, and any restrictive covenants. We give you a clear picture of what you were owed versus what you were offered, and the gap between them.
Most Toronto severance negotiations are resolved without litigation. Once we have calculated your true entitlement and identified the deficiencies in the initial offer, we approach the employer's counsel with a demand. Employers who know they are facing a well-prepared wrongful dismissal claim typically settle, because litigation is expensive for them too. We negotiate with the specific goal of maximizing your net outcome after legal fees.
One of the most consistently underpaid components of severance in Toronto is the loss of bonus and commission during the notice period. Ontario courts have consistently held that employees are entitled to bonuses and commissions they would have earned during the reasonable notice period, even if the employment agreement says otherwise in some cases. We analyze your bonus plan, commission structure, and recent earnings to quantify this entitlement accurately.
Our Toronto employment lawyers offer free initial consultations. Do not sign your severance package before speaking with us, call today.
55 University Ave, Suite 1100
Toronto, ON M5J 2H7
90 Matheson Blvd W, Suite 101, Mississauga, ON L5R 3R3
4750 Yonge St, Suite 600, North York, ON M2N 0J6
277 Lakeshore Rd E, Suite 408, Oakville, ON L6J 1H9
Monday – Friday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Evenings & weekends by appointment
Every case is unique. These anonymized examples illustrate the types of results our team has achieved. Past outcomes do not guarantee future results.
A long-tenured senior manager was terminated without cause with an offer of just 8 weeks' pay. Our analysis of the Bardal factors — age (54), tenure (18 years), character of employment, and re-employment prospects — supported a 22-24 month reasonable notice period. Through aggressive pre-litigation negotiation, we secured 22 months' compensation plus benefits continuation.
Our client endured systematic role reduction, reporting structure changes, and a hostile work environment. We established constructive dismissal under the framework in Potter v. New Brunswick, proving fundamental breach of the employment contract. The court awarded full reasonable notice plus moral and punitive damages.
Our Toronto employment lawyers offer free initial consultations. Do not sign your severance package before speaking with us, call today.
55 University Ave, Suite 1100
Toronto, ON M5J 2H7
90 Matheson Blvd W, Suite 101, Mississauga, ON L5R 3R3
4750 Yonge St, Suite 600, North York, ON M2N 0J6
277 Lakeshore Rd E, Suite 408, Oakville, ON L6J 1H9
Monday – Friday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Evenings & weekends by appointment