A senior tech executive fired after just 7 months has been awarded 14 months’ notice after a judge ruled she was induced to leave her former job at a major competitor.
The 61-year-old executive had spent 12 years with her previous employer, rising to become its most senior Canadian employee before the Defendant approached her via LinkedIn.
She eventually resigned from her prior 12 year job and accepted a new employment offer that included a $200,000 base salary, bonuses of up to $40,000, and Restricted Share Units (RSUs) vesting over three years.
However, the executive was terminated without cause just 7 months later as part of a company-wide workforce reduction and given only 4 months’ of severance pay in accordance with the termination provision in her employment contract.
On summary judgment, the judge ruled that the termination clause was void for technical reasons. In determining that how much severance pay to award, the judge found that the Defendant’s inducement — which included stating that her experience would help grow the business, and offering to cover legal costs if her older employer sued over her departure — justified a larger severance package.
“These discussions initiated by the defendant go beyond the normal ‘courtship’ between an employer and prospective employee,” the judge wrote, setting the notice period at 14 months.
If an employee is enticed to leave secure employment to join a new employer, and then terminated within a year of being hired, they should seek legal advice as they may be entitled to a significant severance package that takes into account not just their short service with their employer but also the length of service they had with the employer they were induced to leave.
