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I signed a fixed employment contract for 12 months Management position in the public sector municipal govt non bargaining position in Human Resources. I disclosed extenuating circumstances to the CEO prior to signing my contract that would require accommodation due to temporary family care needs; to which she was supportive. Although I was questioned the termination clause and expressed I was not comfortable with it under a fixed contract; I accepted the fixed term contract vs another offer for fulltime job specifically because the CEO convinced me that the govt does not just end contracts and had no intention of do so. 2 weeks short of 3 months of a 12 month contract, I was terminate without cause stating due to organization change they no longer required "management" services for the remainder of the 12 month contract until the incumbent on Leave would be returning. My contract had a Termination clause that provided 3 weeks in accordance with the agreement I signed. Incidentally, this was the very situation I discussed before signing that I was not comfortable with. I was completely blindsided, humiliated as they walked me out in front of all my staff and colleagues and worst of all financially distressed as a result. Normally I would have expected to be paid severance or remainder of the contract. Its been 4 months and having difficulty finding replacement work due to questions raised over this last contract - do I have any recourse?

Hello my name is David Vaughan and I am an employment lawyer with Samfiru Tumarkin. When an employer terminates a fixed term contract, it must provide the dismissed employee with damages equal to the balance of the fixed term. This principle can only be rebutted with an enforceable termination provision. Please contact our firm to allow us to review the contract to see if the termination provision is unenforceable and discuss how we can assist you obtain a fair severance package.
Lior Samfiru
Direct Tel (Toll Free): 1-855-821-5900     Email: lior@stlawyers.ca     Web: www.stlawyers.ca
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