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{{Dial-A-Law TOC|expanded = employment}}
This script describes your rights under the BC ''Employment Standards Act'' (the Act) if your job ends, or terminates – whether including where you quit or you , are fired , or laid off. The Act is available at [http://www.bclaws.ca www.bclaws.ca]. You Further, you may also have other rights under your employment contract and they may be greater than your rights under the Act. Generally, your contractual rights cannot be less than the minimum protections under the Act. Some of your rights under the Act, such as the right to overtime pay, may not be available under your employment contract. Check script [[If You're Fired - Wrongful Dismissal (Script 241)|241]], called “If You're fired - Wrongful You’re Fired—Wrongful Dismissal”. It explains that if you’re fired, you may be able to sue your employer in court for breach of contract. That could Doing so can be instead of, or , in some cases in addition to, seeking the minimum protections in the Act. In some cases, though you cannot do always pursue both things – you have to and instead must chooseone or the other. This Choosing which is best in your circumstances can be a complicated area and you should get legal advice about your case before deciding what to do.
Lastly, the this script applies to most BC workers because provincial law covers them. But it doesn’t apply to those who work for the federal government or in an industry regulated by the federal government, like banks and airlines – federal airlines—federal laws apply to them. This script instead deals with provincial law, which affects most workers in the province.
If you quit, your employer must pay you all wages and vacation pay owing within six days of your last workday.
If you get written notice of termination, your job continues until the end of the notice period. During the notice period, the Act prevents your employer from changing your conditions of employment without your written consent.
If your employer gives you notice during your annual vacation, while you are on any type of leave, or during a strike or lockout, the notice is not legally valid. The employer must wait until you return to work before giving you written notice of termination.
use drugs or alcohol that interfere with your job performance
ignore a strict rule of “no alcohol during work hours”
intentionally disobey your boss
consistently refuse to follow a clearly defined chain of authority in a tightly-knit business
are disloyal to your employer or put yourself in a conflict of interest; for example, you set up a business to compete directly with your employer
ignore a clear workplace policy, procedure, or rule
are dishonest about something important
There may also be other cases of just cause, and things aren't always as clear-cut as these examples. An employer does not have just cause to fire you if the employer is simply dissatisfied with your recent job performance. An employer may have to warn you before firing you. An employer may even have to offer you reasonable job training.
Some employers may try to avoid giving you notice or compensation by saying there is just cause to fire you, even if there wasn’t. If you are fired and the employer says there was just cause, look very carefully at the employer’s reasons for firing you to see if there really is just cause. For example, there’s no just cause if you are dismissed because your employer is losing money or is reorganized, or because your job becomes redundant or is eliminated by technological change. A personality conflict between you and your boss may not be just cause – it cause—it depends on the facts of the case. In all these cases, the employer must give you written notice or compensation.
3 months in a row, you are entitled to least 1 week’s notice or pay12 months in a row, you are entitled to 2 weeks’ notice or pay3 years in a row, are entitled to an additional week’s notice or pay for each additional year of service, to a maximum of 8 weeksIf your employer gives chooses to give you pay instead of notice, the pay is to be based on your average weekly wages during your last 8 weeks of normal work.
If you are fired, your employer must pay all of your outstanding wages and vacation pay within 48 hours of firing you – no you—no matter why you are fired.
If an employer fires you because of pregnancy, jury duty, or parental or family responsibility, or jury duty, the employer may have to pay you more money in compensation unless it the employer can show that it did you were not fire you fired for one of these reasons. In some cases, you can be reinstatedat your former job—usually, or put backhowever, in your old job – but usually this is not neither realistic for employers or nor employees.
An employer can fire you without giving you any notice or pay if you:
The Act does not apply to people who are:
professionals such as doctors, lawyers, architects, accountants, and dentists
real estate agents
secondary school students in work-study programs
“sitters” (defined in the regulations as persons employed in a private residence solely to provide the service of attending to a child, disabled or other person, but not including a nurse, domestic, therapist, live-in home support worker, or an employee of any of those persons)
in certain government incentive programs
in job creation programs under the Employment Insurance Program
primary or secondary school students working 15 hours or less a week as newspaper carriers
in industries regulated by the federal government such as banks and airlines
Other people not covered by parts of the Act that deal with termination are:
You will then probably have to ask for payment from your employer through a Self-Help Kit (, though there are some exceptions to this). If your employer doesn’t fails to pay you after you do thishave made a request, you can make a written complaint to the Employment Standards Branch online, in person, or by mail.
If you think you were fired because of your age, gender, religion, or some other personal characteristic, you may have a separate claim under human rights law. In that caseFor more information on human rights claims, contact the BC Human Rights Tribunal at 604.775.2000 in Vancouver and 1.888.440.8844 elsewhere in BC. See its website, at [http://or visit www.bchrt.bc.ca www.bchrt.bc.ca]Further, for more information. Or if you worked for the federal government or in an industry regulated by the federal government, like including banks and airlines, you can contact the Canadian Human Rights Commission at 604.666.2251 in Vancouver and 1.800.999.6899 elsewhere in BC. See its website, at [http://www.chrc-ccdp.ca www.chrc-ccdp.ca], for more information. As well, check script [[Protection Against Job Discrimination (Script 270)|270]], called “Protection against Job Discrimination” and script [[Human Rights and Discrimination Protection (Script 236)|236]], called “Human Rights and Discrimination Protection”.
[updated February 2013April 2015]