Add Comment Question: I started a new job on Monday. I was working through an agency as a contractor working at a client site. Because I am new to Toronto, I mis-judged the commute time and was 10-15 minutes late three days in a row. My manager terminated my contract after hours (I received the news from my agency at 6PM) with no warning and no notice to me (he never even spoke to me about it), and now he wants to dock my pay 1/2 hour for two days, even though I stayed late on Tuesday (which can be confirmed by looking at my computer network logout) and was planning to stay late Wednesday, but was told by my trainer that we'd pick things up in the morning and I should go home. I further suspect that the manager in question didn't want to hire me, because there was an inexplicable delay (one week) in getting the paperwork approved at the client site, and I never received my security badge (most new hires at that company receive theirs the first or second days). My trainer and assigned mentor both told me I was doing an excellent job, and at the end of the day on Wednesday, we were talking about what I was going to do in the morning, so it was obvious that the manager never communicated anything to them. I never received an offer of any severance or anything, either. I admit that I was late. I was willing, if warned, to outline a proactive strategy to make sure I arrived on time, and was taking active steps to make sure I would arrive on time. (On Monday night, my cat nearly died and I was at the emergency vet's until very late, which meant I overslept on Tuesday.) I do not drive, so this involved coordinating transit schedules between TTC buses, subway, and York Region Transit buses. My questions are: Do I have any legal rights in this matter? Am I entitled to any severance? Is a manager allowed to terminate a contractor's contract for alleged disciplinary reasons without any process such as warnings or meetings? If the agency through which I was working decides to blackball me as a contractor (and they're one of the biggest tech recruiters around, so that could have really negative consequenses for my career), do I have any recourse? Answer: Thank you for reaching out to our firm. Generally speaking, an employer can terminate an employee at any time and for any reason. The question becomes how much severance the employee is entitled to, if any. Unfortunately, due to the very short period of time that you worked for the employer, you are unlikely to be entitled to severance. If you would like to discuss this matter further with an employment lawyer, please contact the number below. Your Comment * Your Email * Your Name * Your City Note, your name, city and email is not displayed on the website. It is used to notify you that we have approved your comment.