In Canada, the terms of employment are governed by contract law. If there is no written contract of employment, then contractual terms may be implied from the common law. One of the key clauses, or non-clauses, is the employee’s entitlements upon termination of their employment.
If the dismissed employee is not provided with their entitlements upon dismissal, it’s referred to as a “wrongful dismissal”. If they are provided with those entitlements, then their dismissal isn’t “wrongful”.
This blog post sets out 10 points about dismissal law in Canada. Note that the situation for unionized employees is unique and is not covered by this blog post, which focuses on non-unionized employees in Ontario, Canada’s largest province.