What can I do if I am fired or laid off?

If you have been fired, it is a good idea to get legal advice. See page 19 for more information. A lawyer who knows employment law can help by giving you advice about:

how much notice your employer should give you
whether to make a claim with the Ministry of Labour or Human Rights Tribunal, or go to court
how much notice a court might order
what other rights you may have

With a lawyer’s help, you might be able to agree on the amount of notice with your employer. An employer might want to do this to avoid the cost of going to court.

Making a claim

You may be able to make a claim against your employer because they broke the law.

Make a claim with the Ministry of Labour

Based on the rules in the ESA, the Ministry of Labour can order your employer to pay you money that they owe you.

You must make a claim for unpaid wages to the Ministry of Labour within 2 years of when your employer owed you the money.

In some cases, the Ministry can order your employer to:

give you your job back, and
pay you back for any loss you had because of what your employer did.

For example, this could happen if your employer broke the law by punishing you for something you had the right to do.

Go to court

In some cases, you may be able to make a claim against your employer by suing them in court. But you cannot make a claim for the same reason with the Ministry of Labour.

You have 2 years from the date something happened to sue your employer in court.

Make a human rights claim

If your employer did not respect your human rights, you may be able to bring a claim to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

In most cases, you must do this within one year of when the problem happened. And you cannot make a claim for the same reason with a court or the Ministry of Labour.

The Human Rights Legal Support Centre has information to help you apply to the Human Rights Tribunal.

Visit hrlsc.on.ca. Or call 1-866-625-5179. For TTY, call 1-866-612-8627.

Take notes and keep documents

If you make a claim against your employer, it is very helpful to have records of the hours and dates that you worked.

Make notes about anything that could help your claim. Include the names of people who saw events that relate to your claim.

Keep your pay stubs and documents from your employer, such as your employment contract. And keep copies of any other documents that relate to your job.

If your employer is bankrupt

You may be able to get back money that your employer owes you, if your employer:

has gone bankrupt,
is insolvent, or
is in receivership.

Wage Earner Protection Program

You can apply to the Wage Earner Protection Program (WEPP) to get:

wages your employer did not pay,
vacation pay,
severance pay, and
termination pay.

You must have a valid Social Insurance Number (SIN) to apply online. If you do not have one, call 1-866-683-6516 to get a paper copy of the application form.

There is a limit to what you can get from WEPP. That limit is 7 times what the Employment Insurance Act says are your maximum weekly “insurable earnings”.

For 2024, the most you can get is $8,507.66 before deductions like income tax.

You can get wages and vacation pay that you earned in the 6 months before your employer’s bankruptcy.

If you lost your job in the 6 months before your employer’s bankruptcy, you can get severance and termination pay that your employer owes you.

If you continue to work for your employer after the bankruptcy, you can also get WEPP once your job ends.

To find out if you can get WEPP and how to apply, go to servicecanada.gc.ca. Or call Service Canada at 1-800-622-6232. For TTY, call 1-800-926-9105.

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