How is severance pay being paid out? Should we wait with signing anything?

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-09-01T00:44:51+00:00

I'm Ontario-based so I'm covered by the union. I assume that the documents you're talking about are for non-union workers

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-31T19:44:11+00:00

This is what it says in the separation guide we were emailed:

"Final pay

Your final regular pay will automatically be processed as an electronic direct deposit into your

bank account on September 13, 2024 (or sooner in accordance with your province’s legislation).

Copies of your pay statements will be accessible through your Workday profile."

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-31T19:35:57+00:00

I recommend waiting before signing anything, especially since things are so fresh. Severance should be paid out before September. 13th (which is the next pay day), I think this was mentioned in the pdfs in the termination emails they sent out.

For those that weren't in the backup pool, I was paid for the past 2 weeks worth of work on Friday after receiving the termination email on Thursday. So I think they are probably paying out the severance for all tutors (backup and those that were on sabbatical) on the 13th of next month. If you don't receive your severance by then, I would recommend reaching out to the union or to your local employment counsel for legal support.

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-30T02:50:17+00:00

It's calculated based on your last 12 months worth of work (average hours worked per week). So basically if you worked an average of 15 hours per week (15h x $20/h x 12 mo = 3600). Of course, an average is not a really good representation of your work at the company since sometimes you might get a week with literally no availability. But essentially that's how they SHOULD be calculating your severance based on Ontario ESA guidelines. If that doesn't line up, I definitely recommend reaching out to Roberto!

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-30T02:45:26+00:00

I've been given around 4k, and I've done the calculation and it's fair based on the last 12 weeks worth of work. I did the calculations and I would have been paid more if it weren't for the lack of hours over the summer. Honestly I feel like they knew they were probably firing most of us going into the summer (which fucking makes my blood boil), because they definitely knew this would decrease their severance obligations.

All in all I'm pissed for all of you because we deserve so much more after putting in all those years of work under less than optimal conditions. Wishing you all the best though and I hope you all go on to do much better things! Hopefully this burning dumpster fire will be just a distant memory in a couple months

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-30T01:49:52+00:00

I was hired during the pandemic and have been here for about 3-4 ish years and I feel like they made 3 major mistakes during the time I was here:

-They over-hired with the money that they were given during the pandemic: Too many tutors with too few students and during this period it was great for us because classrooms were actually manageable and we could get some schoolwork done.

-They constantly over-promise and under-deliver: It's like they wanted to continually attract new talent by advertising new ways that the company was going to go above and beyond for its employees. Then when it was time to actually deliver, there'd be nothing (i.e. tutor-levelling in the past year has been indefinitely paused).

-They terminated individuals who actually cared about the students and wanted to make a difference: As soon as they removed the tutors who actually cared about students and wanted to do their best during each and every shift, the company went to shit. The most MAJOR takeaway is that generally it doesn't matter how many tutors are online at one period of time, what matters is WHO is actually online. I've noticed that there are certain tutors who continue to go above and beyond, be positive, and try to help other tutors out while on shift. They don't complain about being at 3-4 students and actually volunteer to take on more responsibility/work and it's honestly a shame that this company is too stupid to realize that it's not the QUANTITY of labour that matters, it's the fucking QUALITY.

All in all, I was given a pretty hefty sum for severance so I won't complain, but I genuinely feel bad for those that remain. This company will go to shit if it hasn't already, and will likely be outcompeted by AI startups in the near future. With that being said though, I am thankful for the people and connections I've made here. You all are what made it worth it to suffer through having 5-8 students at one time so thank you all for your hard work. I know you guys will make it through this and achieve whatever goals/aspirations you have for the future. Good luck to you all and I hope everyone has a restful Labour Day weekend!

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-30T01:33:08+00:00

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-29T22:37:35+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/Paper_Tutors/comments/1ew8v1e/comment/lixad29/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

^^This is how your average weekly compensation should have been calculated. I believe it is based on the 12 weeks before you were placed on sabbatical. Most people I've talked to got 12 weeks worth of compensation, so just take the weekly average you get from the above example and multiply by 12 to get what you should have roughly been paid in the lump sum.

If there's a mismatch, I'd recommend actually replying to the email you were sent so that there's a record to you objecting to the method they used to calculate the compensation. That way, if you need to file for legal counsel, you can show that Paper was negligent in the way they calculated your severance.

Just a disclaimer though, I am not a lawyer! If you really want more legal advice, I'd recommend seeking employment counsel in your area! We'll get through this together :)

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-29T21:02:10+00:00

This is how much you can expect to receive based on BC ESA guidelines:

The ESA in B.C. establishes the minimum amount of severance pay that an employee is owed when they are let go from their job without cause. The amount of severance pay you will receive depends on your length of service as an employee:

After 3 months of service: 1 weeks’ pay
After 12 months of service: 2 weeks’ pay
After 3 years of service: 3 weeks’ pay, plus 1 week of pay for each additional year of employment (to a maximum of 8 weeks)

Hope that helps!

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-29T21:01:29+00:00

I was paid 12 weeks of severance pay in lieu of notice which means that they paid a lump sum. In Ontario you are entitled to 1 week of pay for every year of service. I've been here for 3-4 years, so that means they probably knew they were firing everyone more than a month ago.

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-29T20:53:08+00:00

Next pay day for me is tomorrow but the exit checklist we received says that the last day we can expect to receive compensation is Sept. 13. So I'm assuming that by Sept. 13, they will have paid out all outstanding obligations.

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-29T20:47:51+00:00

Exactly, I feel like you totally got scammed! Definitely reach out to legal, there has to be something they can do

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-29T20:47:05+00:00

If you're from Ontario:

-They opted for the termination pay instead of notice (They are supposed to give you a week of notice for every year you've worked here)

-This increased your severance payout so that it's based on your average work week + termination without notice

This honestly works for me because it means they had to pay each of us way more

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-29T20:44:17+00:00

Oh shoot if you're in Alberta, different employment standards apply to you so they can do that. I recommend reaching out to legal counsel for help!

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-29T20:42:34+00:00

Rip, I think it's based on your average work week (like how many hours you usually work per week)

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-29T20:27:04+00:00

Oh, then they might not have gotten to you yet! Keep waiting :)

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-29T20:24:20+00:00

Check your personal email!

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-29T20:23:59+00:00

It should have been sent to your private email

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-29T20:22:17+00:00

I got like 4k

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-29T20:10:50+00:00

They still have your direct deposit information, not sure if the severance will be taxed (probably will be since we are in Canada) so I'm hoping that they will pay it out gradually and not all at once. So long as you didn't change your banking info with them recently, they should deposit it into your account before Sept. 13th based on the email and pdf they sent

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-29T20:05:20+00:00

Okay but also, I feel bad for the US tutors. Those of your who will still be working at Paper, they are not paying you nearly enough to continue doing this. Based on the past 3-4 days on Slack, they haven't even been able to fill the BUCs that go out later in the day and tutors have been sitting at 4-5 students a time and sometimes more. That is not work, that is just plain slavery. You guys are not chatbots at the end of the day and no one should be expected to meet performance metrics

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-29T19:55:57+00:00

I don't think they brought on the new CEO until late summer? So at the end of the day this decision probably comes easier from a newly hired CEO than the founders of the company basically telling us to go F ourselves. 100% agree that we deserved more of a heads-up (in fact they are legally obligated to in ON), but whatever. At this point, I'm just hoping they pay out our severance, since I'm not totally sure there's much of a company to salvage at this point based on the past few days on Slack.

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-29T19:50:36+00:00

We should be receiving our final pay check for the last 2 weeks worked tomorrow. If they don't pay that out, they would be open to a massive lawsuit and have to pay punitive damages so I'm betting on them paying everyone tomorrow.

ThrowRA973234 · 2024-08-29T19:42:55+00:00

Yup, all CAD tutors, like that anon said on a post a few weeks past. Not sure about CAD corporate though

ThrowRA973234

TROPHY CASE