Fired, Laid Off, or Pressured Out While Pregnant or on Leave? 

Speak with a queer- and women-owned law firm that understands how much this moment matters. 

If you were terminated, laid off, pressured to resign, or asked to sign a release while pregnant, on pregnancy leave, on parental leave, or after returning to work, you may have questions about whether the decision was lawful, whether the timing matters, and what options may be available. 

Collins & Metcalfe LLP advises Ontario employees on pregnancy-related termination, severance offers, releases, workplace discrimination, reprisals, and related employment concerns. 

We represent employees, not employers. 

You Do Not Have to Sort This Out Alone 

Losing a job is stressful in any circumstance. When it happens during pregnancy, pregnancy leave, parental leave, or shortly after returning to work, it can feel deeply destabilizing. 

You may be worried about income, benefits, health coverage, leave rights, childcare, future employment, references, and whether your employer’s explanation really makes sense. You may also be trying to decide whether to sign a severance offer, respond to a deadline, or raise concerns about discrimination — all while managing a major personal and family transition. 

Collins & Metcalfe LLP is a queer- and women-owned law firm representing working people across Ontario. We understand that pregnancy, leave, caregiving, and returning to work are not abstract legal issues. They affect real lives: financial stability, health, family planning, childcare, dignity, and the ability to return to work on fair terms. 

Before you accept an offer or sign a release, it is worth understanding what happened, what your employer has said, and whether the timing or circumstances raise legal concerns. 

We can help you slow the process down, review the situation in context, and identify practical next steps. Sometimes that means assessing a severance offer. Sometimes it means asking questions, preserving evidence, negotiating, or considering whether there are human rights or reprisal issues. The right answer depends on the facts. 

Is This Page for You? 

If your employment has ended, changed, or become uncertain during pregnancy, pregnancy leave, parental leave, or your return to work, this page is intended to help you take the next step carefully. 

You may be in the right place if you are asking: 

• Can my employer fire me while I am pregnant? 

• Can I be laid off while pregnant or on leave? 

• What if my employer says it was a restructuring? 

• Should I sign the severance offer or release? 

• What if I was terminated shortly after returning from leave? 

• What if I was pressured to resign? 

• Does the timing of the decision matter? 

• What documents should I keep before I respond? 

• What if this feels wrong, but I am not sure whether it is legally discrimination? 

The purpose of the consultation is to help you understand the situation, identify practical issues, and decide what next step makes sense. 

We represent employees, not employers. 

What Should I Send? 

If you book a consultation, please send the documents your employer gave you about the end of your employment or change in your work. This may include the termination letter, layoff notice, severance offer, release, or any deadline to respond. 

It is also helpful to provide your employment contract, recent pay information, benefits information, and any documents about bonus, commission, pension, equity, or other compensation. 

If there are emails, texts, notes, performance documents, accommodation requests, leave-related documents, or communications about pregnancy, leave, return to work, restructuring, childcare, caregiving, scheduling, or job changes, include those as well. 

Do not delay booking because you are missing something. If the deadline is approaching, book the consultation and send what you have. 

What Happens After You Book 

After you book, we will ask you to complete a short intake form and send the documents your employer gave you. This helps us understand what happened, what explanation was provided, what you were offered, and any deadline you are facing. 

The consultation is meant to identify the main issues and the practical next step. Sometimes that may be reviewing or accepting an offer. Sometimes it may be asking questions, getting a fuller review, preserving evidence, or considering negotiation. 

You do not need to know the legal answer before booking. The purpose is to help you understand where you stand and what makes sense next. 

A full document review may require a separate paid retainer. 

Practical Advice Before You Make a Decision 

Our role is to help you understand the situation in context — and to identify whether anything important has been missed. 

That may include looking at your length of service, position, compensation, contract, leave status, benefits, bonus or commission structure, release language, deadlines, the timing of the decision, and the employer’s explanation for the termination or layoff. 

You should not assume that the first explanation is the complete answer, or that a short deadline means you have to sign without advice. Timing matters. Documents matter. What was said before and after the decision may also matter. 

Pregnancy, leave, caregiving, and return-to-work issues are often personal as well as legal. We understand that these decisions can affect your family, your health, your finances, and your sense of security at a time when stability matters. 

Sometimes the right advice is to accept the offer. Sometimes it is to ask questions, seek a fuller review, consider negotiation, or assess whether there are discrimination, reprisal, accommodation, or human rights concerns. 

We will help you understand the options, risks, and practical next steps before you make a decision that may affect your income, benefits, legal rights, and future employment. 

Advice Before You Give Up Rights 

A termination or layoff during pregnancy, leave, or return to work often arrives when employees are under pressure to make quick decisions. Collins & Metcalfe LLP helps employees slow that process down, understand what is being offered, and identify whether there are issues that require closer review. 

As a queer- and women-owned law firm, we take these cases seriously. We know that pregnancy, parenting, caregiving, and returning to work can affect every part of a person’s life — income, benefits, health, family stability, dignity, and future employment. 

Our Employment Law Group represents employees across Ontario in termination, severance, release, wrongful dismissal, workplace-rights, accommodation, reprisal, and employment-related human rights matters. 

We provide practical advice focused on options, risks, and next steps — not conflict for its own sake. 

Common Questions About Pregnancy, Leave, and Termination 

Can my employer fire me while I am pregnant? 

An employer may give a business reason for ending employment, but pregnancy and pregnancy-related leave cannot be treated as irrelevant if the timing or circumstances raise concerns. The facts matter, including what was said, when the decision was made, and how the employer explains the termination. 

Can I be laid off while pregnant or on leave? 

A layoff or restructuring may still need to be reviewed in context. The timing, documentation, selection process, treatment of other employees, and communications before and after the decision may all be relevant. 

What if my employer says it was a restructuring? 

A restructuring explanation should be considered carefully. Important questions may include when the decision was made, who else was affected, whether your role continued in another form, and whether your pregnancy, leave, accommodation needs, caregiving responsibilities, or return-to-work status appear connected to the decision. 

Should I sign a severance offer or release? 

Before signing, it is important to understand what the offer provides and what rights you may be giving up. A release may affect your ability to raise employment, severance, discrimination, reprisal, or other legal concerns later. 

What if I was terminated after returning from leave? 

A termination after returning from pregnancy or parental leave may raise questions about timing, reinstatement, role changes, performance concerns, restructuring, accommodation, and whether the employer’s explanation is supported by the documents. 

What if I feel like I am being pushed out? 

Sometimes employees are not directly fired, but are pressured to resign, sidelined, given changed duties, excluded from work, or treated differently after disclosing pregnancy, taking leave, or returning to work. Those facts may matter. A consultation can help identify whether further review is appropriate. 

Will you always recommend negotiation? 

No. Sometimes the practical advice is to accept the offer. Sometimes it is to ask questions, seek a fuller review, preserve evidence, or consider negotiation. The answer depends on the facts. 

Can you help if I am outside Toronto? 

Yes. We advise employees across Ontario. Consultations are available remotely.

Ready to Understand Your Options? 

If you were terminated, laid off, pressured to resign, or asked to sign a release while pregnant, on leave, or after returning to work, get advice before you respond. 

This is not just about employment paperwork. It may affect your income, benefits, health, family stability, legal rights, and future employment. 

Employee-side employment advice from a queer- and women-owned law firm representing working people across Ontario. Consultations are available remotely.