Unjust Dismissal – Steps You Can Take

If you are a federally regulated employee, Part III of the Canada Labour Code protects you from unjust dismissal.

The Code protects all employees who have completed at least 12 months of continuous employment with the same employer and who are not covered by a collective agreement. Managers, however, are excluded: contact the Labour Program directly if you have questions about your management status.

Unfortunately, the Code cannot help you if you have lost your job because of economic circumstances, such as a lack of work or a change in assignments. Despite this fact, your employer cannot arbitrarily fire you and then claim it was due to economic reasons: if you feel your dismissal was unjustified, you can still file a complaint with the Labour Program and your employer will have to demonstrate that you were let go for valid economic reasons. Please contact the Labour Program to file a complaint.

Unjust dismissal may also include cases of “constructive dismissal” where your employer:

  • has not directly fired you, but has failed to comply with your contract of employment in some major respect
  • has unilaterally and substantially changed the terms of employment
  • has expressed an intention to do either of these

Sometimes, an employee may feel compelled to resign rather than accept the new conditions of employment. This would constitute a case of constructive dismissal. If you believe you are involved in such a case, you must clearly indicate to your employer within a short period of time, that you do not accept the new conditions of employment.

But constructive dismissal does not apply to all cases where an employee quits his job. Contact the Labour Program if you are unsure of your situation.

The following flowchart shows how the process for unjust dismissal unfolds:

For more detailed information about unjust dismissal complaint and resolution procedures, see Pamphlet #8 – Unjust Dismissal.

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Date Modified:
2012-02-15