Generally speaking, the term “wrongful termination” refers to a situation where an employee is fired from his or her service either in violation of his or her contract or in violation of some legal protection. In the City of Vancouver, there are particular rights that employees enjoy under the employment law which protects them against wrongful termination. If you feel that you were fired in violation of the law, you deserve to know what is the law, as far as wrongful termination claims are concerned, and how a claim can be made.
Understanding Wrongful Termination
More to the point, in filing a claim of wrongful termination, one must know what is meant by wrongful. To be more specific, employment shall not be based on various discriminatory grounds such as, but not limited to, race, sex, age, and disability. It is also considered wrongful if the dismissal is without cause, to wit, lack of reasonable notice or lack of severance pay. Other examples that could amount to wrongful termination include breach of contract of employment and dismissal based on exercising one’s rights, to wit, filing safety complaints or reporting harassment.
Reviewing Your Employment Contract and Workplace Policies
Above all, peruse your contract of employment and the policies in the workplace to understand the best way towards filing a claim against your employer for wrongful termination. Often, these pieces of documents do set out various specific procedures that ought to be adopted about your terminations and the occurrence of just cause. Sometimes your contract may also offer you protection against arbitrary dismissal while some have laid down policies about severance packages and post-termination benefits. These documents are important as they help one identify if an employer has breached some terms agreed upon. This would mean that should your employer have breached any terms stated within the contract, or has failed to follow specific due policies on how to terminate you, you will have a great basis for the wrongful termination claim.
Understanding Your Claim’s Legal Basis
Next to that will be finding the legal basis for your wrongful termination claim after going through your employment contract. This may be due to violations of the Employment Standards Act of British Columbia for notice, severance, and wrongful dismissal, or if your dismissal involves discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act or similar legislation, it can also be considered a wrongful dismissal. You can seek advice from legal resources or an employment lawyer Vancouver as to whether your circumstances meet these legal protections.
Filing an Employment Standards Claim
If you feel that you have been dismissed without cause, you will want to make a claim with the British Columbia Employment Standards Branch, the provincial government agency responsible for the administration of the law regulating employment standards. You may be able to file a formal complaint if your dismissal has contravened employment rights, including lack of notice or pay in lieu. The ESB will investigate the matter and any evidence, and may mediate between you and your employer. If mediation fails, the matter might go to a tribunal. Be sure to include any relevant documentation that includes but is not limited to your contract of employment, letter of dismissal, and any correspondence with your employer.
Considering Alternative Dispute Resolution
One very productive path, but by no means an exclusive one, is to file a claim of wrongful termination with the ESB. Both mediation and arbitration under ADR also come into consideration in certain conditions. The processes under AdR are far less formal, usually much quicker, than any litigation via a court of law. Most times, there is no need to go through an ordeal; a solution may just be negotiated out between the two parties. The use of mediation could involve a third party who would facilitate a discussion between you and the employer with your active participation, so that one or both of you will agree on something that satisfies both of your interests. Whereas in arbitration, there could be a third party that is going to arrive at the decision based on the case merits. The ADR options could also be pursued with a view to achieving quicker outcomes and avoiding some costly court battles.
Seeking Justice
Where your claim of wrongful termination cannot be resolved through the Employment Standards Branch or ADR, you will have to take the matter to the court. You may want to bring a civil action against an employer for damages concerning lost wages, emotional disturbance, or reputational harm. Damages for wrongful termination may include severance pay, lost income, or even punitive damages in cases of especially heinous conduct on the part of the employer. This is highly recommended so that, when pleading one’s case in a court of law, one seeks the services of a lawyer who has specialized in employment law. The legal representation will be important in the protection of your interests and maximizing the compensation entitled to you.
A claim for wrongful termination filed in Vancouver should be scrupulously done, with lots of detail paid to adherence to legal procedure. It is highly recommended that you take urgent action in light of the time limits within which you ought to have filed your claim. Gather collectively all the documentation of the employment contract, letters of correspondence with the employer, and evidence of perpetration committed against you in depth. Such presentation of rights, gathering of evidence, and proper legal counseling will help the victim take steps toward unfair dismissal and, in the meantime, get appropriate compensation for such damages caused to an employee.
