When should I contact an employment lawyer in Vancouver?

It often makes sense to get advice before signing a severance package, resigning, replying to a termination, or letting a workplace problem continue without a clearer plan.

How do I know if my severance package is fair?

A severance package should be assessed in context. The amount offered is not the only issue. Timing, role, length of service, and the broader facts can all matter.

Can I get legal advice before signing a release?

Yes. In many cases, that is the safest time to ask questions. Once a release is signed, the legal and practical picture may change significantly.

What if the situation at work has become unbearable but I have not been fired?

It can still make sense to get advice. Some workplace problems involve more than whether a formal termination has occurred.

Employment lawyer for employees | Vancouver, BC

Employment Lawyer Vancouver

When something serious changes at work, you may have to make an important decision before you have had time to understand where you stand.

You may have been fired. You may have a severance package and a deadline to sign it. You may have been put on a Performance Improvement Plan, told your job is changing, ordered back to the office, or reached the point where continuing at work has become difficult.

Tim Louis helps employees in Vancouver and across British Columbia understand what has happened, what may be at stake, and what to be careful about before taking the next step.

Vancouver office Clients across British Columbia Practising law since 1984

Free consultation Call 604-732-7678

You do not need your entire employment file organized before you call. If you have a termination letter, severance package, PIP, workplace-change notice or important email, start with that.

Quick Answer

When should I speak with an employment lawyer?

If you have been fired, offered severance, put on a PIP, pressured to resign, told that important working conditions are changing, or are dealing with harassment, discrimination, illness or disability at work, it can make sense to get advice before you sign, resign, refuse or reply.

The employer may already have a position.

Before accepting it as the final word, understand your own.

Tim can review what happened, identify the legal and practical issues, and help you decide what to do next.

This service is for employees seeking employee-side employment-law advice.

Start with what happened

Start With What Is in Front of You

You do not need to know the name of the legal problem before calling a lawyer. Start with the situation that brought you here.

Termination

I was fired

A termination letter tells you that your employment has ended. It does not necessarily tell you whether the employer has met all of its obligations.

The reason for dismissal, your employment agreement, statutory minimums, severance, any allegation of just cause and the events leading up to the termination may all need to be reviewed.

If you were recently terminated, consider getting advice before signing a release or accepting the employer's position as final.

Wrongful Dismissal in Vancouver

Severance

I have a severance package or release

A severance package is more than the dollar amount on the first page.

It may contain a release of claims, confidentiality provisions, benefit terms, payment conditions and other obligations.

Before signing, understand both sides of the document: What are you receiving? And what are you agreeing to give up?

A severance calculator cannot answer every part of that question.

Fired Without Cause in BC

Performance record

I have been put on a Performance Improvement Plan

A Performance Improvement Plan can be legitimate performance management.

It can also become an important part of the employer's written record.

A PIP does not automatically mean that you are going to be fired. It also does not, by itself, prove poor performance or just cause.

If important facts are wrong, the way you respond can matter.

Fired for Cause in BC

Major change

My employer has changed where or how I work

Changes to pay, duties, authority, reporting relationships, hours or work location can have different legal consequences depending on the employment agreement and the history of the relationship.

Return-to-office directions are one example.

An employer asking an employee to return to the office does not automatically amount to constructive dismissal. But a long-standing and accepted working arrangement can matter.

Constructive Dismissal in British Columbia

Health and work

I am sick, disabled or need accommodation

Employment and disability issues can overlap very quickly.

An employee may be dealing with medical leave, a return-to-work request, performance concerns, reduced capacity, accommodation discussions or termination at the same time.

Those situations should not automatically be treated as ordinary attendance or performance problems.

Fired While on Medical Leave in BC

Workplace treatment

The workplace has become hostile or degrading

Not every unpleasant workplace is legally discriminatory. Not every conflict is harassment in the same legal sense.

But serious mistreatment should not be dismissed merely because an employer describes it as a personality problem or normal workplace friction.

Before you respond

Some Employment Decisions Are Easier to Protect Before They Are Made

Consider getting advice before you:

sign a severance package or release
resign because work has become intolerable
respond to serious allegations in a PIP or disciplinary letter
accept a substantial reduction in pay, authority, hours or responsibilities
refuse a return-to-office or other workplace direction
agree with an employer's written version of events when you believe it is inaccurate
assume that being dismissed for cause means you have no rights
treat an illness or disability-related employment problem as an ordinary performance issue

The purpose is not to turn every workplace disagreement into litigation.

It is to avoid making an irreversible decision before you understand its consequences.

If you were fired

The Minimum Standard Is Not Always the Whole Severance Question

British Columbia's Employment Standards Act establishes minimum notice or compensation requirements for many employees whose employment is terminated without just cause. Those minimum standards matter. They may not answer every question.

A proper termination review can also require looking at the employment agreement, any termination clause, the circumstances of the employment relationship, the employer's stated reason for dismissal and whether other legal rights are involved.

Question	Why it matters
What statutory minimum applies?	BC employment standards establish minimum termination protections for many employees.
What does the employment agreement say?	The wording of a termination clause can affect the analysis.
Is the employer alleging just cause?	Calling a termination “for cause” is not the same as proving cause.
Is there a release?	Signing may affect rights or claims you could otherwise pursue.
Are disability, leave or discrimination involved?	These facts can raise issues beyond ordinary termination pay.
What happened before the termination?	Performance history, complaints, leave, accommodation and workplace changes may affect the larger picture.

A severance package can satisfy one requirement while leaving another question unanswered. Start with the actual documents and employment history rather than a severance calculator alone.

Performance record

A PIP Is a Document, Not a Verdict

Receiving a Performance Improvement Plan can be deeply unsettling, particularly when it arrives without warning.

Some employers use PIPs as genuine attempts to identify performance concerns and give an employee an opportunity to improve.

In other situations, a PIP becomes part of a record the employer may later rely upon.

Do not assume which one it is.

Read the document carefully. Are the concerns specific? Do they match what you were previously told? Are the standards measurable? Have expectations changed? What training or support is being offered? Is the timeline realistic? Do any of the allegations overlap with illness, disability, medical leave or accommodation? And are there factual statements that should not remain unanswered?

If you have received a PIP

keep a copy of the PIP
review earlier performance evaluations
preserve relevant correspondence you are lawfully entitled to retain
write down important dates and conversations while they are fresh
separate factual corrections from anger or speculation
ask how the stated performance standards will be measured
understand what your signature is intended to acknowledge
consider getting advice before responding if termination for cause is being threatened

You do not have to agree with an allegation simply because it appears in an official document. But the way you respond can become part of the record too.

Fired for Cause in BC

Major workplace changes

A Workplace Change Can Matter Before Anyone Uses the Word “Termination”

Constructive dismissal can arise even where an employer has not formally dismissed an employee.

The issue may be a sufficiently serious unilateral change to the employment relationship, or employer conduct that calls into question whether important terms of that relationship will continue to be honoured.

It is a fact-specific analysis.

A change that is frustrating or inconvenient is not automatically constructive dismissal.

Questions may include:

what the employment agreement says
whether the disputed term was written, oral or developed through the parties' conduct
how long the arrangement existed
whether the employer had a contractual right to make the change
how significant the change is
whether notice was provided
whether several changes need to be considered together
what the employee did after learning about the change

This is one reason resigning immediately can be risky.

If you believe your job has fundamentally changed, understand the legal consequences before deciding that resignation is the only available response.

Read Constructive Dismissal in British Columbia

Return to office

A Return-to-Office Order Is Not Automatically Constructive Dismissal

The starting point is the employment relationship you actually had.

Was remote or hybrid work temporary? Was it part of the original arrangement? Did it continue for years with management approval? Does the employment agreement address where you work? Is disability, family status or another accommodation issue involved? How significant is the new requirement? How much notice was given?

These questions can involve different areas of law.

One may concern the employment contract and constructive dismissal.

Another may concern accommodation under human-rights law.

Before refusing a return-to-office direction or resigning because of it, understand which issue you are dealing with.

Current BC development

Why Cressey Construction Corporation v. Parolin Matters

The British Columbia Court of Appeal's 2026 decision in Cressey Construction Corporation v. Parolin shows why the actual history of a long-standing work arrangement can matter.

It does not mean that every return-to-office order is constructive dismissal.

The useful lesson is narrower:

An established working arrangement may deserve careful legal review before either side assumes it can simply be changed.

Review Tim's constructive dismissal guidance

Illness, disability and accommodation

Some Employment Problems Have More Than One Legal Layer

Medical leave, disability, return-to-work pressure, performance concerns and termination can overlap.

A performance issue does not automatically become discrimination because an employee has a disability.

But an employer should not ignore a genuine accommodation issue and simply treat its effects as ordinary poor performance or attendance.

Important questions may include:

what the employer knew
what medical or functional limitation was identified
whether accommodation was requested
what information the employer asked for
what options were considered
what happened after the issue was raised

Where employment law and disability intersect, the sequence of events can matter.

Go deeper on the health and work issue

Use the page that best matches the problem in front of you.

Fired While on Medical Leave in BC Workplace Stress & Disability

Workplace harassment and discrimination

Start by Identifying Which Workplace Framework May Apply

A workplace can be difficult, hostile or badly managed without every incident amounting to discrimination under the Human Rights Code.

Workplace bullying and harassment can also raise separate occupational health and safety issues in British Columbia. WorkSafeBC rules do not require every bullying or harassment concern to be connected to a protected human-rights ground.

The first step is understanding what happened and which legal framework may apply.

The analysis can depend on:

what happened
how often it happened
who was involved
what was reported
how the employer responded
whether treatment was connected to disability or another protected characteristic
whether the conduct affected the continuation of the employment relationship

If the situation is escalating, early advice can help you decide what to document, what to raise internally and what not to do impulsively.

What people often get wrong

The Employer's Description of the Problem Is Not Necessarily the Whole Problem

“This is our standard severance package.”

It may be standard for the employer. That does not answer whether it is appropriate for you.

“You failed the PIP.”

That is the employer's conclusion. It does not by itself establish just cause.

“Everyone is returning to the office.”

A general policy may matter. So may your employment agreement, established working arrangement and any accommodation issue.

“You still have a job, so you haven't been dismissed.”

Constructive dismissal can involve a serious change to the employment relationship without a formal termination letter.

“This is performance, not disability.”

Sometimes that is correct. Sometimes disability, medical leave or accommodation needs to be examined before reaching that conclusion.

“Just sign it. You can deal with it later.”

A release is generally designed to create finality. That is why it is worth understanding before signing.

Consultation readiness

What Should I Bring to a First Review?

You do not need a perfect file. Start with the document closest to the problem.

Depending on what happened, useful records may include:

employment agreement or offer letter
amendments to your employment terms
termination letter
severance package and proposed release
Performance Improvement Plan
disciplinary letters
previous performance reviews
compensation, bonus or commission terms
workplace policies relevant to the problem
emails or messages about an important workplace change
remote or hybrid work correspondence
medical-leave or accommodation correspondence
a short timeline of important events

Keep records you are lawfully entitled to retain.

Do not remove confidential, proprietary or third-party material simply because a workplace dispute may be developing.

If you are unsure what matters, bring what you already have.

How Tim reviews an employment problem

I Start With What Changed

When someone contacts me about an employment problem, I do not begin by trying to put a legal label on it.

I start with what happened.

What changed?

What is the employer saying?

What documents govern the employment relationship?

What was happening before the problem arose?

Is there a deadline?

Are you being asked to sign something?

Has a written record been created that needs a response?

Are you thinking about resigning?

Are illness, disability, leave or accommodation involved?

Once I understand that, I can look at what the law means for the decision you have to make now.

If you have already been fired, we may need to review severance, wrongful dismissal or an allegation of just cause.

If you are still employed, the immediate question may be how to respond without unnecessarily weakening your position.

If you have received a PIP, protecting the written record may be important.

If your employer has substantially changed your job, we may need to look at the consequences before you accept the change or resign.

The legal issue matters.

The order in which you make your decisions matters too.

What happens next

What Happens in a Free Consultation?

The first goal is clarity.

Tell Tim what happened

Start with the event or document that caused you concern.

Review the important facts

Tim looks at the employment relationship, the employer's position and the records already available.

Identify the real decision

The immediate question may be whether to sign, reply, negotiate, preserve evidence, seek more information or take another legal step.

Decide what makes sense

Not every employment problem needs to become litigation. Good advice can also help identify when negotiation, clarification or another proportionate response makes more sense.

Free consultation

Have a Letter, Severance Package, PIP or Workplace Change in Front of You?

You do not need to diagnose the legal problem before contacting Tim.

Bring the document that caused you concern and explain what changed.

The first step is understanding where you stand before deciding what to do next.

Call604-732-7678

Emailtimlouis@timlouislaw.com

Office

2526 West 5th Ave, Vancouver, BC V6K 1T1

OnlineFree consultation

Contact Tim Louis for a Free consultation

Why employees choose Tim Louis

Employment Law Advice From a Vancouver Lawyer Who Reviews the Actual Problem With You

Tim Louis has practised law in Vancouver since 1984.

For more than four decades, his work has involved helping people deal with legal problems at moments when employment, income, health and major life decisions can overlap.

His approach is straightforward:

Understand the facts.

Identify what the law changes.

Explain the choices clearly.

Help the client decide what makes sense next.

Tim assists employees in Vancouver and across British Columbia with wrongful dismissal, severance, constructive dismissal, workplace changes, performance issues, harassment and employment problems involving illness or disability.

Frequently asked questions

Employment Law in Vancouver and BC

When should I contact an employment lawyer?

Consider getting advice when something significant has happened at work and you are being asked to make an important decision. Common examples include termination, a severance offer, a PIP, pressure to resign, a major workplace change, a return-to-office dispute, harassment, discrimination or an employment problem involving disability. Advice can be particularly useful before you sign, resign, refuse or send an important response.

How do I know whether my severance package is fair?

There is no reliable answer based on the dollar amount alone. A review may need to consider statutory minimum requirements, the employment agreement, the wording of any termination clause, your compensation and employment history, the employer's stated reason for termination and the proposed release.

Is the Employment Standards Act all I am entitled to when I am fired?

Not necessarily. The Employment Standards Act establishes minimum termination protections for many employees. Depending on your circumstances, your employment agreement and broader legal principles may also need to be considered.

Does being put on a PIP mean I will be fired?

No. A PIP may be legitimate performance management. It can also become part of the employer's written record. Rather than guessing at the employer's intention, focus on whether the concerns are accurate, how performance will be measured and whether any medical or accommodation issue is involved.

Should I sign a Performance Improvement Plan?

It depends partly on what your signature is intended to mean. Acknowledging that you received a document is not necessarily the same as agreeing with every allegation in it. If the PIP contains important factual statements or you are concerned about how it may later be used, consider getting advice before responding.

Can my employer require me to return to the office?

Sometimes. The answer can depend on your employment agreement, the history of the working arrangement and any accommodation issues. A return-to-office direction is not automatically constructive dismissal.

What is constructive dismissal?

Constructive dismissal can arise when an employer has not formally terminated an employee but makes a sufficiently serious unilateral change to an important employment term, or engages in conduct that may show important parts of the employment relationship will no longer be honoured. It is fact-specific. Consider getting advice before resigning because of a workplace change.

Can I be fired while I am sick or on medical leave?

A termination involving illness or medical leave can raise several different issues. Employment standards, the employment agreement, protected leave and human-rights obligations may all need to be considered. The fact that an employee is ill does not answer the termination question by itself.

Do I have to sue my employer if I speak with an employment lawyer?

No. Getting legal advice does not commit you to litigation. A consultation can help you understand your position, avoid a mistake, consider negotiation or decide that no further legal action is necessary.

Does Tim Louis offer a Free consultation?

Yes. Call 604-732-7678, email timlouis@timlouislaw.com, or use the online contact form to request a Free consultation.

Vancouver and British Columbia

Employment Law Help Across Vancouver and British Columbia

Tim Louis & Company Law is based in Vancouver and assists employees across British Columbia.

Clients may be in Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Coquitlam, New Westminster, North Vancouver, West Vancouver or elsewhere in BC.

Wherever you are located, the starting point is the same:

What happened in your employment relationship, and what decision are you being asked to make now?

Free consultation

Before You Respond, Understand What the Decision Could Change

If you have been fired, offered severance, put on a PIP, told that your working conditions are changing, or reached the point where you are considering resignation, you do not need to solve the legal problem before asking for advice.

Start with what happened.

Bring the document in front of you.

Tim can help you understand what matters, what to preserve and what to be careful about before taking the next step.