A probationary period is a trial period at the start of employment—typically three to six months—during which an employer assesses whether a new employee is suitable for the role. This period must be clearly outlined in the employment contract to be enforceable.
You made it through your probation period. You showed up, you worked hard, and you thought the hard part was over. Then you got called into a meeting and let go.
If that happened to you, you are probably asking yourself whether your employer had the right to do that — and whether you are entitled to anything at all. The answer to both questions might surprise you.
A probation period is a trial phase at the beginning of employment — typically three to six months — during which an employer assesses whether a new hire is a good fit for the role. Many employment contracts include one, and many employees assume that being fired during or after probation means they have no rights.
That assumption is wrong.
What Happens If You Were Fired During Probation?
Under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000, an employer can let you go within the first three months of employment without providing any notice or severance pay. This is the only window where a true “no strings attached” dismissal is legally permitted.
But that window is exactly three months — not six, not however long your contract says the probation period lasts.
Critical point: Your employment contract may say your probation period is six months. Ontario law does not care. The ESA only permits dismissal without notice for the first three calendar months of employment. After that, you are entitled to notice — regardless of what your contract says about probation.
What Happens If You Were Fired After Probation?
This is where most people do not know their rights — and where employers frequently take advantage of that.
If you were dismissed after three months of employment, you are entitled to notice of termination or pay in lieu of notice under the ESA — even if you were still within a contractual probation period of six months or longer.
The ESA minimum for someone with less than one year of service is one week of notice or pay in lieu. That may not sound like much, but it is a legal floor your employer must meet.
What About Common Law?
Here is where it gets more significant.
Beyond the ESA, Ontario’s common law may entitle you to reasonable notice even as a relatively short-service employee. Courts consider all of the circumstances surrounding your hiring and dismissal, including:
- How you were recruited and what you were promised
- Whether you left a stable job to take this role
- The seniority and specialized nature of the position
- Your age and how easily you can find comparable work
If you were recruited away from a secure job with promises of long-term opportunity, accepted the role in good faith, and were then let go shortly after your probation ended — a court may award you significantly more than one week of notice. Cases involving inducement from stable employment have resulted in awards of two, three, or even more months of pay for relatively short-service employees.
They can fire you for any reason, but they must pay you proper notice. What they cannot do is fire you for a reason tied to your race, age, gender, disability, or pregnancy. That is a human rights violation on top of a wrongful dismissal.
What To Do Right Now
- Do not THINK you are owed nothing — short service does not mean no rights
- Do not sign any release without getting legal advice first
- Check your contract — a poorly drafted termination clause may be unenforceable
- Think about how you were hired — were you recruited away from another job? That matters
- Act quickly — the limitation period in Ontario is two years from dismissal
