When you lose your job, the severance package your employer first puts on the table is rarely the full story. Most people don’t know whether the offer in front of them is fair, what they’re truly entitled to under employment standards and the courts, or what rights they might be signing away. An employment lawyer steps in as your advocate and guide in that confusing moment. They can review your circumstances to assess what a fair severance really looks like for you. Just as importantly, they can handle the back-and-forth with your former employer, pushing for better terms, fixing unfair clauses, and protecting you from pressure tactics, so you’re not trying to negotiate against an HR department or corporate counsel on your own. In short, a lawyer helps turn a “take it or leave it” offer into a real negotiation.
An Employment Lawyer Can Explain What Severance You Are Actually Entitled To
Most people compare their severance offer to what friends or co-workers received. Employers often compare it to the bare minimum under employment standards legislation. Both can be misleading as entitlement to severance can be extremely different based on different circumstances around the work you do, your personal information, and whether or not there is a contract limiting your common law rights.
An employment lawyer will look at (amongst other things):
- Your age
- Length of service
- Position and responsibilities
- How specialized your work is and how hard it may be to find a comparable job
- Any promises or patterns in how the employer has treated the employment relationship
They’ll compare all of this to case law, not just the statute minimums, and tell you whether your offer is low, fair, or generous. That alone can stop you from leaving a lot of money on the table.
Reviewing The Enforceability of Your Employment Contract
One of the most important things a severance lawyer does is review your employment contract to see if its terms are even legally enforceable, and that can have a huge impact on how much severance you’re ultimately owed. Many contracts contain termination clauses that try to limit you to Employment Standards Act (ESA) minimums but are drafted in a way that courts have found to be invalid. If a termination clause doesn’t comply with current law, the employment contract may be thrown out entirely, opening the door to significantly greater common law severance. The challenge is that employment law is constantly changing as new court decisions come out, and what was enforceable five years ago might not be enforceable today. An experienced employment lawyer keeps up with those changes, knows how judges are treating different types of clauses, and can identify problems in your contract that you might never spot on your own, often turning a modest offer into a much stronger severance package. Sometimes, a single problematic clause in an agreement is enough to void the employer’s attempt to limit your severance. That’s not something most people will spot on their own.
Valuing the Employment Whole Package, Not Just Salary
A good severance lawyer doesn’t just look at your base salary and multiply it by a number of months; they look at everything you’re losing as a result of your termination and work to quantify it. That can include bonuses, commissions, benefits, RRSP matching, pensions, car or housing allowances, professional dues, and even things like cell phone and parking. For executives and C-suite employees, the stakes are even higher: equity and stock options, long-term incentive plans, change-of-control provisions, unvested RSUs, performance bonuses, and the impact of non-compete and non-solicitation clauses all need to be carefully valued and negotiated.
An experienced employment lawyer knows how courts treat these different elements, how to argue that they should be included in your severance, and how to translate complex compensation packages into real dollars, to ensure you don’t leave an entire layer of your compensation on the negotiating table.
Spotting Red Flags in The Severance Release
A key part of a lawyer’s job in severance negotiations is spotting red flags in the release your employer asks you to sign. Employers often use long, dense legal wording to do much more than simply confirm that you’re settling your termination claim, they may try to make you release future or unknown claims, give up rights you didn’t even know you had, agree to overly broad confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses, or accept harsh repayment and indemnity provisions if something changes down the road. Sometimes the release quietly adds new non-compete or non-solicitation obligations, or interferes with your ability to claim EI, bonuses, equity, or benefits. An experienced employment lawyer knows where the traps usually are, reads the fine print with a critical eye, and pushes back on unfair language, so you’re not trading away important rights just to receive severance you were already entitled to.
Taking Over Severance Negotiations so You Don’t Have to
Another major benefit of hiring a severance lawyer is that they take over the negotiations, so you don’t have to. For most people, dealing with HR and corporate counsel, especially right after losing a job is stressful, emotional, and intimidating. You may worry about saying the wrong thing, missing a deadline, or being pressured into accepting an offer that doesn’t feel right. A good lawyer becomes the point of contact, handling all communications with your former employer, setting the tone of the negotiation, and making sure everything is done in writing and on proper legal footing. They know the leverage points, the typical tactics employers use, and how far things can realistically be pushed. That lets you step back from the conflict, focus on your next steps and your well-being, and trust that someone with experience is advocating firmly and professionally on your behalf.
Protecting You Against “For Cause” Allegations
When an employer hints at “just cause” or says they’re firing you for cause, the stakes go way up because a just cause termination can mean no severance at all and a serious hit to your reputation. A good employment lawyer steps in quickly to protect you. They know that the legal bar for just cause is very high and that many “for cause” threats don’t actually meet that standard which can lead to a wrongful dismissal matter.
Your lawyer will review the allegations and the paper trail, advise you on how (and whether) to respond, and stop you from making well-intentioned admissions that could be used against you. They can challenge weak investigations, push back on exaggerated or unfair allegations, and often negotiate to have “cause” taken off the table entirely or reframed as a without-cause termination with proper severance and a neutral or agreed reference. In short, they help keep a bad situation from becoming a career-damaging one.
Structuring The Deal And Considering Tax Issues
A skilled severance lawyer doesn’t just fight for a bigger number, they also help structure the deal in a way that makes financial and tax sense for you. Depending on your situation, it may be better to take part of the severance as salary continuance instead of a lump sum, to spread income over more than one tax year, or to allocate some amounts as non-taxable damages where the law allows. They can also flag options like directing eligible portions into RRSPs, addressing how bonuses or commissions are characterized, and making sure the settlement accounts for your legal fees in a tax-efficient way. By thinking about timing, form, and tax treatment, not just the headline amount, a good employment lawyer helps you keep more of what you’re paid and avoids unpleasant surprises at tax time.
Experienced Severance Lawyers
Experienced employment lawyers bring strategy, leverage, and peace of mind to severance negotiations at a time when most people feel vulnerable and outmatched. An experienced employment lawyer levels the playing field and turns a stressful “take it or leave it” moment into a thoughtful, informed negotiation about your future.
If you need a lawyer to assist you with your severance negotiations, contact the employment lawyers at Taylor & Blair LLP today to schedule a consultation.