Wrongful Dismissal and What to Do About It

If you are a provincially regulated employee, and file with the Nova Scotia Labour Standards Division, you are able to claim the reasonable notice period prescribed in the Labour Standards Code. 

This notice period ranges from one to eight weeks for an individual dismissal, and potentially up to sixteen weeks if a large number of employees were dismissed within a four-week period. 

Alternatively, if you have been an employee with the same employer for ten or more years continuously, you can claim reinstatement rather than a reasonable notice period.  This is because the Labour Standards Code has an additional protection for provincially regulated workers of long service.

Click here to see how much time or severance you are entitled to.

For more information, contact the Nova Scotia Labour Standards Division:

Web:  www.gov.ns.ca/lae/employmentrights/

Phone: 1 888 315-0110 (toll free) or (902) 424-4311 (Halifax)

Or reach out to the Halifax WAC below.

If you are a federally regulated employee, rather than a provincially regulated employee, you may choose to file with ESDC. 

The amount of notice you can claim if you are federally regulated is:

• Two weeks’ notice for all employees with more than three consecutive months of continuous employment; or

• Sixteen weeks’ notice where fifty or more employees are dismissed within a four-week period.

If you have at least twelve months of continuous service, you can also receive:

• A minimum of five days’ pay, or

• Two days’ pay at the regular rate for each completed year of employment, whichever is more.

Additionally, under the unjust dismissal provisions of the Canada Labour Code, your employer cannot dismiss you without cause if you have been an employee with them for twelve continuous months or more.  This is an extra protection only afforded to federally regulated employees. 

Employment Insurance maternity and/or parental benefits may be available to parents taking pregnancy or parental leave.

If you want to file a Labour Standards claim and have any doubt as to whether you are provincially or federally regulated, contact the Labour Standards Division or the ESDC:

Employment and Social Development Canada:

Web: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/jobs/workplace/federal-labour-standards/filing-complaint.html

Phone:  1-800-641-4049 

Nova Scotia Labour Standards Division:

Web:  www.gov.ns.ca/lae/employmentrights/

Phone: 1 888 315-0110 (toll free) or (902) 424-4311 (Halifax)

The court you file with depends on how much money you are asking for.

If your claim is worth $25,000 or less, you can file it in Small Claims Court. If your claim is worth more than $25,000, you can still choose to file in Small Claims Court, but you’ll have to give up (or “forfeit”) any amount that would go over that limit.

If your claim is more than $25,000, you can file in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court instead. However, it’s a good idea to talk to a lawyer before filing in the Supreme Court.

In Small Claims Court, most people represent themselves and you don’t necessarily need a lawyer to handle your case. The Supreme Court, on the other hand, is much more complex, and people are usually less successful without legal representation. Also, if you lose in the Supreme Court, the judge can order you to pay some of the other party’s legal costs. In Small Claims Court, the only costs you can be ordered to pay are small ones like filing fees (around $50–$200).

If you file a claim in court, you can ask for reasonable notice or severance pay, but the court cannot order your employer to give you your job back. Reinstatement (getting your job back) is only possible through a Labour Standards complaint, and only for employees who have been with the same employer for more than 10 years.

If you are asking for reasonable notice, the amount of notice under common law (i.e. decided by judges in past cases) is usually more generous than what’s provided under Labour Standards. Under common law, employees are generally entitled to about one month of notice for every year of service with their employer.

The actual amount depends on the specific details of your case, and only a judge/adjudicator can decide what is “reasonable notice” for you. However, the large majority of wrongful dismissal cases settle without the need to go to a hearing.

If you file a wrongful dismissal claim, you are also expected to “mitigate your damages” by actively looking for another job. If you don’t make a reasonable effort to find new work, your notice period (and therefore your compensation) may be reduced.

To contact your local Small Claims Court:

https://www.courts.ns.ca/Small_Claims_Court/nsscc_home.htm