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The firm will not want to litigate they will settle. It will cost more to litigate, go for it.
4.8 < 5. Is your lawyer bad at math?
Really sucks but I would take what you can get and move on fast. Lots of restructuring going on across many businesses. It’s a cheat code to lowering wages at a time when everyone can blame the AI boogeyman. The upside is everyone is hiring so your lower paying dream job may be out there!
Sorry I needed that just as much as you probably do 😂
Not following the 4.8<5, I think my numbers are confusing this post 😅 5 years is when you're entitled to the very minimum severance by the employee standards act, but I was let go at 4.8 years (probably their attempt to avoid severance), but by common law which uses a bunch of batting factors the likely outcome is 5-7 months
I think your lawyer is giving you bad advice as you will only see the money from settlement in a couple years through the litigation process as it takes a while for the case to work its way through the legal system, trust me I know from experience. Honestly, a good lawyer will try to get you three to four months' settlement immediately without litigation.
It would take 3-4 months to settle as the case would you through mediation which is a lot quicker rather than litigation
Thanks everyone for sharing your comments
Can you look for a job during those months? Is there the possibility of getting zero if you start litigation? Would you feel better about taking the current offer vs zero? How strong of a case does your lawyer think you have, and what precedents are there?
Take the 5 months
The 5 months is what the Company's lawyer has agreed is fair but the Company has only offered 6 weeks, hence my lawyers suggestion to start the claims/litigation process to quicken this up to get to a settlement which would take about 3-4 months (while being unemployed). The alternative is to take their 6 weeks offer.
Sorry you're going through this. It sounds like you’re in a tough spot, but if your lawyer says 7 months is possible with litigation, it might be worth the risk. Tough call, but I think I'd trust your lawyer's advice especially if you can simultaneously be applying for jobs
Thank you! Getting a job offer ahead of time would mess up the outcome, hence not recommended. I'm leaning towards going ahead with the claim and using the time to figure out which path career wise as I have decided to branch out of public accounting (been 7 years) and also to do all those things would love to do but hadn't had time for.
But also worried about repercussions from having a 4 month gap on my resume when it does come to the eventual job hunting
The case seems to be simple cut and will 99% not go through litigation but rather go through mediation which is a much quicker process and hence which will take 3-4 months to settle once I decide to go ahead (simpler cases like mine don't end up going to litigation), hence the recommendation there. If I were to go ahead with the claim, best to be unemployed during this time as if I were to receive a job offer it would mess up the likely of outcome 5-7 month settlement as severance would then only be paid to the date I take up the job. The Company initially offered nil severance, I then went back to them about it to try to settle amicable before involving a lawyer, they pretty much been delaying all their responses to date leveraging on the fact that I will get a job soon (after all the lawyer negotiations, they are providing the exact same offer i.e. 6 weeks as they did a month and a half ago before I got my lawyer which is pretty crappy)
settle at 5 as you are going unemployed for 4 months maybe more for maybe 2 months of additional severance that isnt guaranteed
The 5 months is what the company's lawyer had agreed is fair - however the company is only offering 6 weeks ( pretty much leveraging on the fact that I get a job soon so that they don't have to pay severance). It's more a choice of take the 6 weeks offer no strings or file a claim and settle in about 3-4 months (unemployed) with a likely settlement of 5-7 months
What’s the net payout of 6 weeks vs 5 month (which will be settled for time between 6 weeks and 5 months, less lawyer’s cut)? Use that as the basis to see if you could stomache the cost/time
If you don’t need the money immediately and this lawyer has experience of getting at least 37K more, i would personally pursue it. A potential downside is you may get mentally wrapped up in this fight when your mental energy should be focused on what comes next in your career. Good luck
Ask the lawyer if they have won such a case where someone was 3 months short of the requirements. If you sign the agreement, that's it. You have no room for negotiation. You could request a meeting with your employer and try to negotiate 2 months of continuance pay in addition to the 6 weeks. You can show them your list of accomplishments and let them know this will be a hardship for you. Whatever the outcome, you get a recommendation letter before you go—wishing you the best!
You can take them to tribunal where you can represent yourself and it now free. Also, I know of x2 employment lawyers who have helped in the past.
I don't know how unemployment benefits work in Canada, but in the US, accepting a severance package usually disqualifies you from receiving unemployment during the period of severance. So if unemployment benefits exist, then you could choose to litigtation and search for another role, and hope for the best. Second, check your hire agreement, it potentially has a mediation clause in it for labor disputes. Also, if you have yet to request LinkedIn recommendations for your profile, do that now before you select an option, and do not communicate what you are doing other than you are leaving the firm, so you'd like to get a recommendation for the work you've done. I would suggest NOT communicating any decisions about whether you will accept the severance or choose to litigate. A client or senior manager reference is good, but a partner reference is better if you can get one. They tend not to do them, but you can ask if you have one who has been a friend, performance mentor, etc. If you choose to go the litigation, that option is gone. Also any internal network connections are burned, so choose wisely. I've been working for 20+ yrs, and I still use former firm connections in now my 3rd job search. (yes, I stay in long stretches at jobs) so those connections are very helpful. I'm not trying to sway you either way, just wanted to make sure are considering both the long-term and near-term impacts of your decision. You have a case, its just your advocate will tell you part of the story, not the potential implications of your decision downstream in your career. Food for thought.
I am not sure what the severence in Canada is normally like but in the US you are not gauranteed anything. If you are lucky to get something it would be a week for every year of service, That is the best I have seen so good luck!
In Canada by the Employment standards act we are mandated to receive 1 week for each year of service once you cross 5 years. However common law is different and looks at facts like age, seniority level of position, gender and other factors to determine the suitable severance pay. For example a highly experienced surgeon in his 50s after 10 years of service would definitely be provided for more than just 10 weeks of severance if he was let go without cause. It is possible to be provided up to 24 months depending on case circumstances of the individual.
In my case 1-2 months per year of service is reasonable - at least the base minimum would be 5 months instead of 6 weeks or 1.5 months being offered after various discussions (nil was offered initially), so yes pretty much getting screwed over.