Employees in federally regulated industries such as broadcasting, banking, aviation, inter-provincial trucking, telecommunications, and postal service, have more job security than provincially regulated employees.

Federal workers have additional protections under the Canada Labour Code which do not apply to provincial workers. As a federally regulated employee, your employer can only fire you if your employer can show just cause for dismissal. This rule applies unless you are a managerial employee, or your job has essentially been discontinued. When your federally regulated employer terminates you without just cause, the law says it is an “unjust dismissal.”

As a federally regulated employee (union or non-union) protected by the Canada Labour Code, you can make an unjust dismissal complaint if you have worked for at least 12 consecutive months in a non-managerial position.

You may choose to make an unjust dismissal complaint because they are typically faster and less expensive than proceeding through court. You can also choose to pursue reinstatement of employment, a special remedy not normally available to most dismissed employees. While the Canada Labour Code outlines a minimum payment that must be paid if you are dismissed, you could be entitled to more based on a wide range of factors that can influence your amount of severance. These factors include:

• salary
• age
• tenure
• entitlement to all nondiscretionary payment that you earned while employed