Toronto Employment and Labour Law Blog: Fired? Negotiating Severance: 10 Keys to Success

#6 HOW NOT TO FIRE YOURSELF      

A bad manager can cause the best employee to react emotionally and threaten to leave. It is said, "employees join companies but leave managers". It has been pointed out that 75% who voluntarily leave their jobs do so because of the actions of bad managers. If you resign your position you lose your right to notice, severance or any other compensation apart from your salary up to the date of resignation. You lose future salary, benefits, holidays and bonus. The next day you may regret your decision to fire yourself. Your employer may take you at your word and remove you immediately from payroll and accept your resignation. Your employment lawyer will advise you that the law indicates that for a resignation to take legal effect must be clear and unambiguous. Preferably in writing setting out the such resignation is to take effect. 

 Emotional outbursts such as, "I won't take it anymore, I am out of here", " I could earn a lot more somewhere else" are insufficient in law, for a resignation to be acted upon by the employer. The employer may not be sympathetic to your argument, " I really didn't mean it". Your precipitous action may lead to litigation or a heavily discounted settlement or no settlement at all. 

When the manager is friendly and the employee has a positive relationship with the manager the employee may share with his/her manager that the intention is to leave the job at the end of the year. If that employee's employment is terminated before year-end the employee may have limited his/her recovery as a result of confiding that information to the manager. Negotiations on termination can be seriously hampered by the employee's own words shared in confidence or not. Too often settlements are discounted because of what the employee shared with management. For example, "I plan to retire at the end of the year." The employer may take the position that the employee, because of planned retirement, is entitled to nothing beyond the year. For a 20 year or more employee, such an unwise statement is disastrous.

If you believe that you are being targeted/set-up for termination, run do not walk to an experienced employment lawyer who will coach you so you receive the best possible financial bridge to your new job or to a no discount retirement. Better to make no threats or discuss your employment plans with your manager at all. Always be a good "LISTENER". Take notes, or make notes after. Examples of responses can be "I will think about what /have said and get back to you", If you were in my shoes you would want to get some advice before responding. That is what I plan to do". There is no need to respond or react until you get legal advice. If an exit strategy is required it can be accomplished with the considered advice of an experienced employment lawyer.

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