Employment law is a complex legal discipline and there is never a catch-all solution to any case. Each person that has a complaint with their employer comes from a unique situation and requires an experienced employment lawyer to understand what needs to be done.
When dealing with an employer that you believe has wronged you in some way, it is very important that you get an employment lawyer as soon as possible. They will be able to help you get your case started off on the wrong foot. The advice that they will be able to give you around building a rock-solid case from the beginning will be invaluable in the long run.
More tricky maternity issues:
1. If I get fired without cause, the courts will get me my job back!
Even if your dismissal from the company was deemed to be wrong you will not get your job back necessarily. Unless you are in a union, a senior administrative officer in a government bureaucracy. The truth is that the most that you will probably be entitled to pay for a notice period that wasn’t provided, this notice period can often be quite substantial. You can be asked to work the time that they pay, although that is generally not the case. It is usually enough for a company to pay out a severance package in order to fulfil their legal requirements.
2. You will only be entitled to a maximum of 8 weeks severance when fired
In most employment law cases the court will award you with a much greater severance period than the 8 weeks. It can even be as high as 24 months worth of severance. This is completely dependant on if you win your case or not. If you want to give yourself the best possible chance of winning your case then you should absolutely look to hire an employment lawyer as soon as you have been fired. The sooner you have someone in your corner the sooner you will be able to get the settlement that you are entitled to.
3. You can settle an employment law dispute without a lawyer
Of course you can deal directly with the Human Resources department at your place of work, however, they are not motivated to help you get the settlement you deserve. They only have to do all they can to protect the company that fired you from any further liability. So while it is totally possible to settle an employment law dispute without the aid of a lawyer, it is not advised.
You should absolutely speak with an employment lawyer if you are serious about getting the amount of money that you are entitled to if you believe that your termination was unjustified or caused by prejudice or discrimination.
4. You have as long as you want to start your case
There is a limited amount of time that you have to file your case and get the ball rolling on a court date. It is strongly advised that you speak with an employment expert as soon as possible. The last thing that you want is to miss the deadline and then be stuck without any option for legal recourse.
The key to winning your employment law case is to be as proactive as possible. Make notes and keep track of everything that you can remember in the days and weeks leading up to your termination. If you suspect that you may be fired soon it is a good idea to keep records of your emails and other office communication in a hard copy format.