11 Aug Can my employer delay their response to my Wrongful Dismissal claim?
As a recently terminated employee, you may have realized that the conditions under which you were terminated were unjust and exhibit reasonable grounds to file a Wrongful Dismissal claim. You may have been through the termination meeting, received and waited to sign your termination letter, and have even booked a consultation with a lawyer. You may feel like you have done everything right, however, your employer is not being as cooperative as you expected. This can happen, and it is not unheard of. A Wrongful Dismissal claim against an employer involves time, money, and negotiation that an employer may want to try and avoid. Good news is, they are legally not allowed to ignore this claim forever.
According to the Government of Ontario, one of the reasons an employee may choose not to move forward with a claim, is due to their employer not responding. The workplace may be shut down, has gone bankrupt, or the employer has just been ignoring the claim. These examples are not grounds to concede. If there are reasons to believe you have been wrongfully dismissed, it is within your right to continue the process.
What could an employee’s next steps be?
You may be now asking what you can do to get the attention of your employer or if there are methods that can press your employer to respond and provide what is rightfully yours.
The Employment Standards Act outlines that when filing any claim that is in violation of the rights laid out in the ESA, there is a two-year time limit to when the claim can be filed from the time of the incident. Once the claim has been filed, the employment standards officer is then assigned to review the claim. The employment standards officer’s job is to investigate the workplace and any practices that have occurred at this location. Thus, the employer would become obligated to get involved in the issue.
If you need legal assistance to review your employment agreement and termination letter to examine what you have a right to receiving from your employer, please contact KCY at LAW by filling in an online consultation request or contact us by phone at 905-639-0999 to book your consultation today.