Lifelong construction supervisor.

Our client, Bill, was 63 and had worked for the same company since he was 24. There was no written agreement, he never received holiday pay, was never given any specific holidays, and just took time off when he could. Bill would receive a phone call every morning telling him which construction site to go to, and he would go there and supervise other workers to ensure that houses and garages were built properly.

When Bill was 63, his employer approached him and asked when he would retire. Bill said he wasn’t sure – it might be 65, it might be 70.

On Bill’s 65 birthday, the employer stopped phoning him. After a week, he phoned and asked why he was not getting called any more. The employer claimed that he was 65, had announced he would be retiring and had therefore “resigned”.

Bill had no intention of resigning at this point and had never specifically stated that he would retire at 65.

When we wrote a demand letter asking for appropriate notice, Bill’s employer got nasty: They kept his tools, refused to pay his gas card, and showed up in the middle of the night to seize the truck they had given him to use for work.

Eventually, Bill received over $100,000, representing 18 months’ pay in lieu of notice.

Resolute Law Group negotiated Bill’s settlement as a “retiring allowance” and due to his stress and anxiety, were able to have some of that characterized as “general damages” which were non-taxable.

Bill now enjoys his own business ran out of his garage, and hopes to retire at the age of 70.