Losing your job is an emotionally and financially challenging situation, especially if you’ve been fired without reason. Laws in British Columbia allow employers to let go of employees with or without cause. However, employers still have to follow labour laws when firing without cause, including providing either the appropriate severance pay or the minimum notice period before your final day of work. If you believe you were terminated from your job without cause and didn’t receive either the legally required notice or severance pay, you may have a wrongful dismissal case. Should you pursue a wrongful dismissal case, you will need documented proof of employer wrongdoing.
Documentation in Wrongful Dismissal
To prove you were wrongfully dismissed from your place of employment, you will likely need to work with a lawyer to have the best chance at earning compensation. The first thing your legal team will have you do is start accumulating documents to use as evidence in court. If you don’t already have physical copies of your employment contract, performance reviews, witness statements, pay stubs, and termination letter, you will need them. If you didn’t receive a termination notice in writing, speak with your lawyer. They may be able to help you source this and other documents from your previous employer if you are unable to contact them or are uncomfortable doing so.
Written documentation is crucial to the success of any wrongful dismissal case. Anecdotal evidence cannot be proved in court on either side, so both sides will need to rely on written documents. Ideally, your documents should demonstrate a concrete timeline that exhibits how long you worked at your previous job and a clear record. These two pieces of information are important since employers are supposed to provide notice periods or severance pay according to your length of employment and cannot fire you with cause unless there is a clear fireable offence in your work record.
Documentation for Duty to Mitigate
Even if you were wrongfully terminated without cause, you still have to take reasonable steps to look for comparable employment. This is called a duty to mitigate. Documentation is also important for this process. After termination, you should document every single action you have taken to try to find a new job with similar qualifications, duties, pay, and benefits to your last position. This includes keeping a physical copy of your updated resume and cover letter, a record of submitted job applications, emails scheduling and following up on interviews, and attendance at job fairs. Without proper documentation, your past employer’s legal team will try to argue that you haven’t done enough to gain new employment. This could negatively impact potential compensation awards in court.