What does an employment lawyer in Toronto do?
A Toronto employment lawyer advises workers and workplaces on the rules that govern a job, from hiring through to the day it ends. Common files include drafting employment contracts and workplace policies, handling terminations and layoffs, negotiating severance, and bringing or defending human rights and harassment complaints. Some also handle union matters and collective bargaining. Many act mainly for employees, others for employers, and some do both.
Many of these files settle through negotiation rather than a hearing, so a lawyer's first job is often to work out what you're actually owed.
Which employment law applies in Ontario?
Most Toronto workplaces fall under Ontario's Employment Standards Act, 2000, which sets minimum standards for minimum wage, hours of work, public holidays, vacation, pregnancy and parental leave, and notice of termination and severance pay. The province's Ministry of Labour administers the Act.
A smaller group of workplaces is federally regulated and follows the Canada Labour Code instead. Federal labour standards under Part III of that Code cover private-sector industries such as banking, telecommunications, and interprovincial and international transportation, so employees at those workplaces follow federal rules rather than the provincial Act.
Discrimination and harassment at work are handled separately under the Ontario Human Rights Code, a provincial law that gives everyone equal rights in areas such as jobs, without discrimination on grounds that include race, sex, disability, age, creed, and family status. Those claims are resolved by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.
What is wrongful dismissal, and how does severance work?
The termination and severance figures in the Employment Standards Act are minimum requirements, not the full picture. Some employees have rights under the common law greater than the notice or pay the Act sets out, which is why a negotiated severance package can run well beyond that floor.
An employee let go without fair notice can sue a former employer for wrongful dismissal in the courts, with larger civil claims heard at the Superior Court of Justice. One limit matters: you can't both sue for wrongful dismissal and file an Employment Standards claim with the ministry for the same termination, so you have to choose a route.
How do you choose an employment firm in Toronto?
Start by matching the firm to your side and your problem. If you've been terminated, look for one that handles employee-side severance negotiation; if you run a business, look for one that advises employers on contracts, policies, and terminations. Ask whether it's comfortable at a hearing or trial or leans toward settlement, and who will carry your file day to day. Toronto firms are spread across the old city and the communities of North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, East York, and York, so there's usually one near you.
You can confirm any lawyer's standing on the Law Society of Ontario directory. Browse the employment & labour law firms in Toronto below.
