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Fixed-term contracts — employment agreements with a set start and end date — carry outsized risk for employers, and outsized opportunity for you. If your contract ends on schedule, no severance is owed. But if your employer ends it early, the amount you’re owed can be enormous — calculated on the balance of the entire term, which may be years.
If your fixed-term contract is terminated early and lacks a clear, enforceable termination clause, the law entitles you to be paid for the entire balance of the remaining term — all wages and benefits you would have received up until the contract’s original end date, even if that period spans several years. This result may seem harsh for employers, but it’s been consistently enforced by appellate courts, including in Howard v. Benson Group Inc. and the Alberta Court of Appeal’s ruling in Rice v. Shell Global Solutions Canada Inc.
Yes. Under the Matthews v. Ocean Nutrition principle, your entitlement must include every form of compensation you would have earned during the balance of the term — not just base salary, but bonuses, benefits, and equity too.
Employers often assume a fixed-term contract caps their risk. Without a properly drafted termination clause, it does the opposite — the balance of the term can mean years of pay, not weeks. We make sure that entitlement is calculated in full.
our services
Workplace challenges can be difficult to navigate alone. Our firm is committed to helping employees understand their rights and find the right path forward.
We review your fixed-term contract to determine whether it contains a clear, enforceable termination clause — the single factor that decides whether you’re owed a few weeks or the entire remaining balance of the term.
Where you’ve been employed through multiple contract renewals, we assess whether the relationship has been legally converted to indefinite employment, entitling you to full common law severance based on your entire accumulated service.
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Employment Law Advocates made a stressful situation so much easier to navigate. Their team was responsive, knowledgeable, and fought hard to secure the outcome I deserved.
Employment Law Advocates made a stressful situation so much easier to navigate. Their team was responsive, knowledgeable, and fought hard to secure the outcome I deserved.
We work with employees from all backgrounds who need trusted legal guidance during difficult workplace situations, including severance package reviews and wrongful dismissal claims.
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