How can HR lawfully determine the correct amount of both time and money to give their terminated employees?
As we navigate the tricky waters of 2020, more and more employees are feeling the painful sting of redundancy.
According to the Government of Canada’s official tracker, 24.16 million applications have been lodged for Canada Emergency Response Benefits (CERB), with the dollar value of CERBs been doled out sitting at $70 billion.
So, how do employers know how much reasonable notice to give their workers? How can they lawfully determine the correct amount of both time and money to give their terminated employees?
Speaking to Blue J, the platform that helps HR professionals confidently manage challenging workplace issues and employee disputes, HRD asked the best methods for dealing with terminations.
“Most employment relationships are governed by provincial, federal, or territorial employment standards legislation,” explained Blue J, in a recent whitepaper available for download here.
“The statutes dictate the minimum length of notice of termination and amount of severance pay to which an employee is entitled when they are terminated without cause. Although the terms termination pay, severance pay and pay in-lieu of reasonable notice are often used interchangeably, they each refer to a distinct obligation.
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“Termination pay refers to the statutory minimum length of notice that an employer must provide an employee as set out in employment standards legislation. In Ontario, for example, an employee who has been continuously employed for more than three months but less than one year would be entitled to one week of termination pay pursuant to s.57 of the Employment Standards Act. Severance pay refers to an additional amount of compensation in certain circumstances for employees who have served for more than five years. These statutory minimums are just that: minimums.
“Employers should be aware that employees terminated without cause may also be entitled to reasonable notice at common law. If an employer fails to provide reasonable notice, an employee can claim to have been wrongfully dismissed and seek the reasonable notice to which they may be entitled through litigation.”
To help ease the possibility of error, Blue J created Blue J L&E, an AI-powered tool that enables employers to determine how much reasonable notice you may have to give your staff.
The tool, which Blue J is offering for free during COVID-19, proffers an in-depth questionnaire to glean the information needed – asking the same sorts of questions an employment lawyer would do in person. This revolutionary new tool eliminates any possibility of human error, allowing for complete transparency between HR and employee.
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By applying machine learning to employment law, Blue J L&E gives both parties faster, more accurate decisions than ever before. The Reasonable Notice predictor takes into consideration employee tenure, wage, promotion, relocations, education and performance, and other factors, meaning HR departments have greater clarity and certainty when dealing with dismissals.
Not only does this AI game-changer benefit any concerned employers, it also allows the employees themselves to verify potential decisions – increasing the chances of settlement.
Take a spin on Blue J L&E here for free – you may just be surprised.
