Termination for Cause

Termination for Cause Lawyer Calgary

What Is Termination for Cause?

Many employees find themselves in difficult situations where they have been let go “for cause” without any compensation. Getting fired “for cause,” or what is sometimes called “just cause,” means an employer is firing you for serious alleged misconduct. It is the most severe form of dismissal, often called the “capital punishment” of employment law.

When an employer claims they have cause, they are saying they can fire you on the spot. That means no advance warning, no termination pay, and no severance, not even your minimum entitlement to notice under the Employment Standards Code. Very often, this may also negatively impact the employee’s ability to collect EI.

Both employers and employees must be aware that alleging misconduct does not magically meet the standard for just cause just because the employer is claiming so. Here is the critical part – the bar for proving just cause in Alberta and other common law jurisdictions is incredibly high. The employer has the burden of proof that the alleged misconduct is so serious that the employment relationship has been completely broken down. They must convince a court that what you did was so serious it shattered the employment relationship beyond repair. Many employers think they can raise just cause for trivial or first-time misconducts without realizing that just cause may not be justifiable in the circumstances.

Reasons for Just Cause Terminations in Calgary

To be clear, an employer cannot legally fire you for cause over minor slip-ups, having a bad attitude, or one poor performance review. The misconduct has to be serious and, in many cases, repeated or deliberate without any attempt from the employee to correct themselves. In other words, the punishment needs to be proportional to the misconduct that occurred, and terminating an employee for trivial or fixable mistake will attract legal liabilities that are entirely avoidable.

No two cases are the same and every situation is different, but the kinds of actions that might give an employer grounds for a just cause firing in Calgary include:

• Serious dishonesty, such as theft, fraud, or deliberately faking company records.
• Serious harassment, violence in the workplace, or a major safety breach that puts people at risk.
• Time theft.
• Breaching workplace policies.
• Absenteeism.
• Insubordination, which includes clear, repeated, and deliberate refusal to follow lawful and reasonable instructions.
• Breach of trust.
• Habitual neglect of duty that is more than just being “bad at your job.” It means you are persistently failing to do your core duties, even after your employer has given you clear warnings, training, and multiple chances to improve. This is what lawyers call “progressive discipline.”

From the employer’s perspective, proving cause can be challenging. In most situations, the employer will need to show clear evidence of progressive discipline (i.e. start with verbal warning, written warning, and progressively to performance management prior to termination).

In extreme situations involving dishonesty, theft, or fraud, the employer may also need to show that an investigation was carried out prior to the termination to make sure the grounds for cause indeed happened and that the employee had a chance to state their side of the story. Investigations must be impartial, comprehensive, usually from a third-party who does not have skin in the game. Failure to conduct a fair investigation prior to letting an employee go is one of the biggest blunders we see from the employer side.

Termination for Cause vs Wrongful Dismissal

We often hear people use these two concepts interchangeably, and to be fair, these two concepts often go hand in hand. “Termination for cause” is the reason your employer gives for firing you without severance, whereas “Wrongful dismissal” is the cause of action in the lawsuit you file when you argue that the termination was improper. In our experience, the majority of for-cause terminations do not meet the legal test for just cause and can be scrutinized. It is important that you meet with an employment lawyer to assess your situation.

A wrongful dismissal lawsuit typically happens in two scenarios:

• You are fired “without cause” but your employer lowballs you on severance, often close to your minimum entitlement under the Employment Standards Code.
• You are fired “for cause,” but the employer’s allegations are weak, exaggerated, or simply not true.

If you fight a “for cause” dismissal and the court sides with you, the law essentially re-labels your firing as a “without cause” dismissal. That is a huge deal, because it means the employer now owes you the full severance package you should have received in the first place.

What Compensation Can You Receive?

If you were fired for cause and you successfully challenge it, you are entitled to damages. This compensation is not just limited to the minimums under Alberta’s Employment Standards Code. It is just the starting point.

Upon establishing wrongful dismissal, you are owed “common law reasonable notice,” which is almost always a much larger amount. A court determines this amount by looking at factors like:

• Your age.
• How long you worked there.
• Your position (e.g., manager, specialist).
• The availability of similar jobs.

It is important to never trust any formulas such as “one month per year of service”. Each case is unique and will require personalized assessment to see what kind of severance package to which you may be entitled.

On top of that, if the employer behaved badly, say, by making up allegations to dodge paying severance or treating you horribly during the firing, a court might also order them to pay extra “aggravated” or “punitive” damages for that bad faith conduct as a deterrence for future conducts.

How Our Calgary Termination Lawyer Can Help

Getting fired for cause is a traumatizing experience. It can be stressful, and sometimes it is easy to feel like you have no options. It is critical to act quickly to protect your rights.

At TZ Law, our first step is always to just listen. We will meet with you, go over exactly what happened, and analyze the reasons your employer gave. From there, we will give you a clear, no-nonsense assessment of your case.

Our team of Calgary termination lawyer will:

• Dig into the “cause” allegations and see if they actually meet the high legal standard.
• Contact your employer to challenge their position and negotiate for a fair severance package.
• Defend your reputation against unfair or false allegations.
• File a wrongful dismissal claim and fight for you in court if the employer will not be reasonable.

Our entire goal is to protect you, push back on the employer’s story, and get you the full compensation you deserve.

Contact TZ Law to Discuss Your Termination for Cause Matter

If you have been fired for cause in Alberta, do not sign anything. Do not just walk away, even if you feel defeated. You could be giving up a significant severance package.

Call our Calgary employment law office today for a consultation. We will help you figure out your options and decide on the best way to move forward.

Why choose us?