Ending Employment

Your employer can fire you for just cause, meaning you broke your employment agreement or committed some type of misconduct (such as theft or neglecting your duties). However, your employer can also dismiss you without cause, provided they give you the appropriate amount of notice.

Wrongful termination is not the same thing as just feeling that you should not have been fired. Termination is only wrongful if your employer did not have cause to fire you and didn’t provide you with the proper notice or payment in lieu of notice. You can see the minimum requirements here.

If you believe you have been wrongly terminated, you may be able to file a claim. Contact Employment Standards for more information at (204) 945-3352 (toll-free 1-800-821-4307).

Constructive dismissal occurs when an employer does not terminate an employee outright, but rather makes the work environment so toxic or untenable that the employee resigns. Examples might include demoting the employee to a lower position, lowering the employee’s pay, relocating the employee, or unjustifiably criticizing the employee’s performance.

In order to be constructive dismissal, the employer’s conduct must be a fundamental breach of the employment contract, and depends on the circumstances. For example, an employer who cuts an employee’s hours because he wants them to quit could be constructive dismissal, but an employer who cuts an employee’s hours because there is not enough work for them to do might not be constructive dismissal.

To make a claim for constructive dismissal, contact an employment lawyer.

Most of the time, yes. The amount of notice depends on how long you have worked for your employer:

• • Less than 30 days: no notice required
  • 30 or more days, but less than one year: One week’s notice
  • One year or more, but under three years: Two weeks’ notice
  • Three years or more, but under five years: Four weeks’ notice
  • Five years or more, but under 10 years: Six weeks’ notice
  • Ten years or more: Eight weeks’ notice

Your employer has the option to allow you to work throughout your notice period, or to let you stop working at an earlier point and pay you for the difference in time you would have worked. For example, if you have worked at your job for more than ten years, your employer could choose to dismiss you immediately and pay you for eight weeks’ worth of wages, or have you work for four weeks and pay your wages for the remaining four weeks. This is called “payment in lieu of notice”.

Notice is not required in certain circumstances, for example if you work in the construction industry or are dismissed for just cause.

Severance pay refers to an amount of money that must be paid to certain employees if they are terminated without cause. Manitoba law does not specifically require severance pay to employees. However, if you work in a federally-regulated industry, you may be entitled to severance pay if you have worked at your job for one year or longer. Your employment contract or collective agreement may also entitle you to severance pay.

People sometimes use the term “severance pay” interchangeably with “payment in lieu of notice.” In Manitoba, you are required to be given notice or payment in lieu of notice, but you are not necessarily entitled to severance pay.

Most of the time, yes. If you have been employed at your workplace for a year or longer, you must give at least two weeks’ notice. If you have been employed between 30 days and one year, you only need to give notice of one week. If you have been working for less than 30 days, you do not need to give notice.

If you have an employment contract or collective agreement, you should check to see if it requires you to give more than two weeks’ notice to your employer.

In some circumstances, you do not need to give your employer notice, for example if your employer has acted in an improper or violent manner toward you. For more information, visit: https://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/standards/doc,terminate-employment-after-apr-30-07,factsheet.html

The basic rule is that your employer must file your Record of Employment within five calendar days of an interruption of earnings (such as termination, resignation, or being laid off). However, there are some exceptions. For more information, see https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/ei/ei-list/reports/roe-guide/understand.html#s1_2.

Not without your consent. Your ROE is only used by Service Canada to determine whether you are eligible for Employment Insurance (EI), and if so, to help determine what amount you should receive.