When you are wrongfully terminated in Vancouver, you need to act quickly.
Vancouverites are living in a time when the cost of living is up, the cost of gas is high, and the cost of housing is through the roof. Having stable employment is important at a time when more and more people are living pay cheque to pay cheque.
Unfortunately, sometimes people end up losing their jobs, for several reasons and while losing your job is never fun, that is especially true in this economy.
What can make it even worse is when you lose your job unfairly for reasons outside of your control or for reasons that are not justifiable. The good news is there is something you can do about it. If you are wrongfully terminated an employment lawyer can help you get the money you’re entitled to.
If you need a lawyer in BC, reach out to Davison North Law at 6046297808
What Is A Wrongful Termination?
Wrongful termination is a blanket term for when an employer terminates the employment relationship without a fair reason or with a reason that doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Common examples of this include when someone loses their job in the following ways:
● Being Fired Without Cause
● Being Fired For (Alleged) Cause Where It Is Not Justified
● Constructive Dismissal (When Your Employment Terms Are Unilaterally and Significantly Changed)
● Being Fired Due To Discrimination On A Protected Ground Such As Race, Skin Colour, Ancestry, Country Of Origin, Religion, Marital Status, Family status, Physical Or Mental Disability, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity Or Expression, Or Age
Considering the numerous different industries and the huge variety of employment opportunities that exist, there is no one fact pattern or playbook that can apply for wrongful termination.
Each case is unique and requires a unique approach which will depend on a number of factors, including what industry you are working in if there is an employment contract in place, and whether or not your workplace is unionized, amongst other things.
What Can I Do If I Was Wrongfully Terminated?
Ben Tarnow, a lawyer at the Vancouver law firm of Taylor & Blair LLP, says, “The most important thing you can do after you’ve been wrongfully terminated is to make sure you have all the important documents organized for your lawyer.
Your employer can try to back-fill their case after you lawyer up, so the best time to get the evidence you need to prove your case is at the time of termination, or immediately after.”
Examples of important documents that can help you and your lawyer are:
● Your Employment Contract
● Getting A Copy of your Termination Letter
● Employer Policy Handbooks
● Communications (Emails, Text Messages, Etc.) Relating To Your Termination
● Contact Information Of Important Witnesses
● A Detailed Written Statement of The Events Leading Up To Your Termination
Wrongful termination cases
Quite often in wrongful termination cases there will be competing versions of events which create a duelling narrative as to what occurred.
In these cases, having documentation which cannot be disputed can help make your case for you. In fact, it is good practice to not only have all the important documentation organized and available but to also make copies that you can rely on in case you lose anything along the way.
While getting the evidence you need to prove your claim is important you also must prove that you haven’t failed to mitigate your damages by looking for another job. An employee is only entitled to damages until they find a new job with commensurate pay.
What to Do If You’ve Been Wrongfully Terminated in Vancouver
As such, a common defence in wrongful termination cases is for the employer to argue that the employee failed to mitigate their damages by not looking for comparable new employment. In order to defeat this argument, you should have an organized record of your attempts to find new employment.
This can be as simple as a list of what job postings were applied for and when, or you can include more detail such as cover letters and email communications to show that you were trying to secure new employment.
If you are wrongfully terminated In Vancouver, you should get legal advice.
First Steps to Take After Being Wrongfully Terminated
Once you’ve been wrongfully terminated, gathered all of the important documents you can and started looking for new employment, you should contact an employment lawyer to help you navigate the various choices available to you with respect to how you should proceed.
There are many avenues to consider if you’ve been wrongfully terminated in British Columbia and it is important you choose the right one.
Vancouver’s Leading Support for Wrongful Termination Victims
How you should proceed depends on a number of factors including why you were terminated, how your employer went about the termination process and what industry you worked in or who your employer was. For straightforward termination cases, you can sue in the Court system.
However if you were fired due to a failure by your employer to accommodate a disability or because of your age or race, you could bring your claim to the BC Human Rights Tribunal.
If your employer is federally regulated (for example employers involved in banking, aviation, radio and television broadcasting, etc.) then you can file a complaint for unjust dismissal under federal employment legislation.
If you are wrongfully terminated in Vancouver, speak to a lawyer.
