General guidance
This guide currently contains general legal information. Jurisdiction-specific guidance for your location is coming soon. The Concaso assessment will still tailor its questions and analysis based on your jurisdiction.
Tailored versions available: Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, United States (General), California, England & Wales.
Defendant Centre
If you are defending this
As the employer, the question is what the contract and legislation required, and whether the process and the paperwork support the decision.
- Find the deadline on anything you have been served with and diarise it immediately.
- Do not ignore it — many processes allow a decision to be made against you if you do not respond.
- Preserve documents and messages now; deleting anything is far worse than the underlying dispute.
- Separate what you genuinely dispute from what you accept, so the response is focused.
- Consider whether you have a claim of your own arising from the same events.
- Check whether an insurance policy or an employer may be required to cover or defend it.
Reading this from the other side? Switch to the Plaintiff Centre view.
What wrongful dismissal actually means
Wrongful dismissal is usually not about whether an employer was allowed to end your job. In most places an employer can end an employment relationship for almost any lawful reason. The dispute is normally about how it was done — specifically, whether you received the notice, or the pay in place of notice, that you were entitled to.
That means two very different questions often get mixed together. The first is whether the reason for the dismissal was lawful. The second is whether the amount you were paid on the way out matched what your contract and the local law required. Most wrongful dismissal disputes turn on the second question.
How notice and severance are measured
Notice is normally measured in two layers. The first is a statutory minimum set by legislation. The second, in some places, is a larger common-law entitlement that considers your circumstances as a whole.
- Length of service — longer service usually points to longer notice.
- Age — older employees often take longer to find comparable work.
- The nature of the role — seniority, specialisation and responsibility matter.
- Availability of similar work — a thin market can extend the reasonable period.
- What your written contract says, if it validly limits your entitlement.
Your written employment agreement matters enormously. A clearly drafted and enforceable termination clause can cap what you receive. A clause that conflicts with local minimum standards may be unenforceable, which can change the analysis substantially.
Why your contract is usually the first document a lawyer reads+
A termination clause is the single fastest way to narrow the range of likely outcomes. If it is enforceable, the discussion is often about arithmetic. If it is not, the discussion widens to a full reasonable-notice analysis. This is why the signed agreement, and any later amendments or new offer letters, are worth locating before anything else.
Dismissal for cause
Employers sometimes assert cause, meaning misconduct serious enough that no notice is owed. Cause is generally treated as a high bar, and it is normally the employer who must establish it. Performance concerns, personality conflicts and isolated errors do not usually meet that bar on their own.
An employee is dismissed after a documented argument with a manager. The employer calls it cause. Whether that holds up will usually depend on what was documented before the incident, whether warnings were given, and whether the response was proportionate.
Your duty to look for other work
In most common-law jurisdictions, someone claiming notice is expected to make reasonable efforts to find comparable work. You are not required to accept anything at all, and you are not usually required to take a significant step down. But your search matters, and it is worth documenting.
Keep a simple search record
- Dates you applied, and to whom
- Copies of applications and job postings
- Interview invitations and outcomes
- Any income earned in the notice period
Deadlines and filing routesGeneral guidance
Deadlines and forums vary significantly. Broadly, there is often a choice between a statutory complaint process, which tends to be faster and cheaper but capped, and a court claim, which can be slower but is not subject to the same caps. Choosing one can sometimes limit the other.
Deciding what to do next
Right away
Collect your contract, termination letter and pay records before access is lost.
First week
Write down the sequence of events while it is fresh, with dates.
Before signing
Understand what a release gives up. Signing usually ends the matter.
Early on
Confirm the deadline that applies to your route, then decide on advice.
Most matters settle. A structured, well-documented position tends to settle earlier and on better terms than an emotional one, which is why organising the record early is worth the effort even if you never file anything.
Documents to gather
- Signed employment agreement, and any later amendments or promotion letters
- Termination letter or notice, and any severance offer
- Pay stubs for the twelve months before the dismissal
- Bonus, commission or incentive plan documents
- Performance reviews, warnings and any performance improvement plan
- Emails or messages about your performance, role changes or the dismissal itself
- Benefits and pension statements
- Records of your job search after the dismissal
Evidence that carries weight
- A written contract with no termination clause, or one that conflicts with minimum standards
- Positive performance reviews shortly before a dismissal for alleged cause
- A clear timeline showing what changed and when
- Contemporaneous emails or messages rather than recollections of conversations
- Documented compensation history, including bonuses actually paid
- Evidence of a genuine job search after the dismissal
Want both lists in one printable page?
Common mistakes
- Signing a release quickly to get the payment moving, before understanding what is being given up
- Deleting or losing access to work emails and documents before copying anything you are entitled to keep
- Relying on verbal assurances about bonuses or severance that were never written down
- Waiting past a short filing deadline while negotiating informally
- Not documenting the job search, which can reduce a notice claim
- Assuming the amount offered is the legal maximum rather than an opening position
Frequently asked
Do I have to sign the severance offer by the deadline in the letter?
Deadlines in severance letters are set by the employer, not by law. They can create pressure, but asking for time to review an offer is common and normal.
Does it matter that I was told my role was eliminated?
A genuine restructuring can be a lawful reason to end a job, but it does not remove an entitlement to notice or pay in place of notice.
What if I found a new job immediately?
Income earned during the notice period can reduce a claim in many jurisdictions. It rarely eliminates the analysis entirely, particularly where statutory minimums apply.
Can I still act if I have already signed?
Signing a release usually ends the matter, though there are limited exceptions. If you have signed, that fact is important context to raise early.
Assess my situation
Concaso turns what you already know into a structured, confidential report — strengths, weaknesses, missing evidence, and the deadlines that matter. We will start you in the right place based on this guide, as a employer.
Assess my situationAssessment topics related to this guide
Wrongful dismissal
Best matchYou were let go and the notice or package may be inadequate.
Constructive dismissal
Your job changed so fundamentally you may have been forced out.
Accommodation / disability
A need for workplace accommodation was refused or mishandled.
Restrictive covenant / non-compete
A clause limiting where or how you can work.
Topics in this guide
Related guides
Recommended next read
Severance and Termination Pay
How severance offers are usually built, what the numbers are based on, and how to review an offer before you sign anything.
Recommended next read
Constructive Dismissal
When a change to your job is serious enough that the law may treat it as a dismissal — and what to document before you resign.
Recommended next read
Human Rights and Discrimination Complaints
How discrimination and accommodation complaints are usually assessed, where they are filed, and what evidence tends to matter.
Also about notice
Tenancy Disputes
How tenancy disputes move through notices, hearings and orders, what each side normally has to show, and the dates that control everything.
This guide is general information, not legal advice, and Concaso is not a law firm. Reading it does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Deadlines and procedures differ by jurisdiction and change over time — confirm anything you intend to rely on.