I was given a break from 3-4 ( had to punch out) and then I took another hour break that I wasn't aloud from 5-6 without punching out. I have never been written up before. Should I have been fired?

Thank you for your question. My name is Jon Pinkus and I am an employment lawyer with Samfiru Tumarkin LLP.

Any employer can dismiss you for any reason, as long as they pay you your proper severance. To find out how much you should have been paid, visit our Free Severance Calculator at http://www.severancepaycalculator.com/. An employer can avoid having to pay you severance if they have just cause to terminate your employment, but that is extremely difficult to establish.

A single unauthorized break is almost certainly insufficient to meet the high threshold to establish cause for dismissal. Therefore, if you have been terminated for cause, I would say that you very likely have been wrongfully dismissed and could be owed significant compensation.

If you would like to set up a consultation to discuss your entitlements, please email me at jon.pinkus@stlawyers.ca or call us at the number below.