I work Monday to Saturday, but I'm sometimes on call on weekends cause I work at a car rental company. I slept through some calls and my manager messaged me to clean out my desk. I'm not getting paid for any after hours on the weekends. Since I am not paid, or working during my employed hours, does my manager have the rite to fire me for this? I am very good at my job, and it seems unprofessional on his end cause of his decision under distress. Also have have no written warning of termination prior to this text message telling me of my immediate termination.

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

What you are describing sounds like a wrongful dismissal, and you could be entitled to significant compensation. While it is true that an employer can terminate your employment without a good reason, they need to pay you your proper severance. They can avoid paying severance if they have just cause for dismissal, but just cause is very difficult to establish. What you have described certainly does not sound like it even approaches the standard required to establish cause.

To find out how much you could be owed, please visit our free online Severance Pay Calculator at http://www.severancepaycalculator.com/. If you have been paid less than what is showing on the calculator for severance, please contact me at jon.pinkus@stlawyers.ca or give us a call at the number below for a consultation.