The simple answer is that you should retain a lawyer that specializes in employment law as soon as you realize that you may have an issue relating to your employment (or your employee, if you are an employer).
We understand that it can be scary to consider retaining a lawyer, and you may be concerned about the potential cost. You can contact us at any time to arrange a consultation, during which we will explain the law to you and discuss how we can help. Consultations have a fixed fee, so you will know exactly what the cost will be, and you will not be committed to anything further unless you decide to retain us to move forward. You will only have to make that decision once you have our opinion and recommendation.
Unfortunately, over the years we have seen many people , and organizations, make the mistake of trying to deal with the situation themselves first. Usually, it only makes the situation worse. For example:
- We have had new clients come to us after trying to negotiate a severance package on their own. Because they did not understand the law or their rights, they offered to settle for an amount far less than they were entitled to.
- We have been consulted by employees that were being harassed, or had been constructively dismissed, but handed in the resignation without ever raising their concerns. This made it quite difficult to pursue their rights.
- We have worked with employers that dismissed employees without any legal advice, offering them far less than they were legally entitled to and then, not surprisingly, being threatened with a lawsuit.
- We have had employers come to us after making fundamental mistakes such as refusing to allow an employee on parental leave to return to work because they preferred her replacement.
- We have seen employers suffering from economic challenges that have decided to “reduce wages across the board”, thereby treating everyone fairly. What this did was give everyone a potential constructive dismissal claim.
If you think that you might need an Employment Lawyer, then you probably do. At the very least, you should arrange a consultation with one of our lawyers so that we can discuss the matter in detail, explain the law to you, and then determine whether you need our assistance.
