Leaving or Losing Your Job

An employer can terminate your job for many reasons. For example, your employer can choose to let you go because of:

• poor performance
• being late too often
• having a bad attitude
• a shortage of work

There are some reasons an employer cannot fire you for, however. An employer cannot fire you:

• because of things like your sex, race, nationality, religion or place of origin which are all protected by human rights legislation
• because you are away from work on a leave that you are entitled to take

If you lose your job through no fault of your own and cannot find work, you may be able to get Employment Insurance. If you are unable to find a new job and cannot support yourself, you may be able to get Social Assistance.

If you have been working for your employer for more than 13 weeks and you want to quit, you need to give at least 2 weeks’ notice. The notice must be in writing and state your last day of work. This does not apply if:

• there is an established custom in the particular industry that requires other or no notice
• leaving is due to danger to your health and safety
• leaving is due to a reduction in wage
• the employment contract can no longer be performed due to unforeseen circumstances

This notice requirement is the minimum set out by law. You may need to give more notice if your employment contract sets a longer period of time. You may also need to give more notice if it would be reasonable to do so in the circumstances. If you do not, you may be found liable for any damages that result from your sudden departure. A court would look at whether there is actual damage to the employer, not just annoyance and inconvenience. If you are worried about the notice you might need to provide, consult a lawyer.

If you have worked for your employer for more than 13 weeks, your employer must give you notice if they lay you off without just cause. The notice requirements depend on how long you have worked for your employer. If you have worked:

• less than a year, your employer needs to give you at least 1 weeks’ notice
• more than a year but less than 3 years, your employer needs to give you at least 2 weeks’ notice
• more than 3 years but less than 5 years, your employer needs to give you at least 4 weeks’ notice
• more than 5 years but less than 10 years, your employer needs to give you at least 6 weeks’ notice
• more than 10 years, your employer needs to give you at least 8 weeks’ notice

This notice requirement does not apply to care providers who go into a person's home to look after children or other family members.

An employer can choose to pay you instead of giving you notice. In this case, you would leave your job right away but still get paid for the whole notice period.

The notice periods above are minimums set out by the law. If your employment contract does not specify that the minimums apply, you could be entitled to more notice. As a rough rule of thumb, employees often get around one month of notice per year of service. However, there are many factors that go into determining how much notice someone is actually entitled to. These include how old you are and the availability of similar work. A court will consider whether you could have taken a similar job but did not when deciding on how much you are owed. If you think you might be entitled to more than the minimum, consult a lawyer.