He said the abrupt firing crushed him, but the judge saw the damages bid differently
A corporate controller had barely settled into a new role before his employer let him go without offering a reason. He argued the abrupt dismissal entitled him to months of severance pay. A British Columbia judge agreed he was owed something, just not nearly what he wanted.
In a decision released July 10, 2026, Justice J.G. Morley of the Supreme Court of British Columbia awarded the worker four months' pay in lieu of notice, working out to $40,296.81 in damages after deductions. Monk Office Supply Ltd. had argued two months was enough, while the worker had pushed for six.
Two and a half months, then out
The worker joined Monk Office Supply Ltd. as its corporate controller on April 1, 2024, at a salary of $125,000 a year, reporting to the company's vice-president. About two and a half months later, on June 17, 2024, the company's president and chief executive called him into her office and ended his employment. No cause was alleged, and she gave him no reasons.
According to the decision, he left with a reference letter along with his salary and accrued vacation to June 22. An assistant walked him to his desk to collect his belongings and return company property, then went with him to his car. Justice Morley found the firing had been handled privately and discreetly.
A CPA in his early forties, the worker found another corporate controller job five months later, though at $90,000 a year, a pay cut. He sued for wrongful dismissal, raising two questions: how much notice he was owed, and whether the way he was fired warranted aggravated damages.
How long is fair notice?
Justice Morley noted that in Canada, non-unionized employees can be dismissed without cause but are owed reasonable notice, a default the offer letter did not change. The point of notice, he explained, is practical. "The ultimate objective is to compensate employees for the search time in getting a new job."
For a short-service employee of the worker's age and standing, the judge set a starting point of two to three months. He observed that courts have given shrinking weight to how senior a role is when fixing notice, reasoning that better-paid employees already collect proportionately more during any given notice period.
The worker argued his post was senior; the company maintained it was not. Justice Morley found the corporate controller role important and one of trust, calling for regular contact with senior management, but not itself senior management. Given the five-month job hunt and the resulting pay cut, he settled on four months, a modest bump above the starting point.
A humane exit, no explanation required
On the second question, Justice Morley recognized that employers owe a duty of good faith in how they carry out a dismissal, and that breaching it can attract aggravated damages for psychological harm beyond the ordinary sting of job loss. The worker said the firing shook him, hurting his sleep, confidence and sense of identity.
But the judge drew a firm line between the decision to dismiss and the way it was delivered. Declining to give reasons or a warning, he found, is an employer's prerogative when no cause is alleged and the worker is not unionized. Reviewing affidavits the worker did not contradict, he concluded the company had tried to fire him as humanely as it could.
The judge declined to award aggravated damages, accepting that the dismissal was a genuine shock but tracing that pain to the loss itself. "But that suffering was because of the decision to fire him, not because of how it was carried out." With notice set at four months, he calculated $41,666.67 in pay, subtracted the $1,369.86 already paid on termination, and awarded $40,296.81, plus interest, with costs to be decided separately.
