Is Your Employer Supposed to Call You Back After “Break Service”?

Many companies use the approach of breaking their employees’ service each year so that employees, on paper, do not have long service. Employees would often work with companies for several years and the companies usually break their service for a few weeks and then re-engage them. 

Some employers use this approach because they believe it allows them to terminate employees without facing any consequences.  

However, if you have been working under this type of arrangement and your employer ends your contract to “break your service”, but they do not call you back to work, this may be considered an unfair dismissal and you may be entitled to compensation. 

Even though it may seem, on paper, that your service ends every time your employer sends you home to “break the service”, your employer is not allowed to permanently send you home unless there is a valid reason and he has followed a proper process. 

If you have worked with your employer in this manner for an extended period of time, there may be an expectation that your employment will continue. And it may be unfair for the employer to end your employment.

If your employer terminates your employment in this way, you may be entitled to compensation.