Picture this: an employee storms into a lawyer’s office, heart pounding, pink slip in hand, visions of a six-figure severance windfall dancing in their head.

The lawyer — smiling like a cat that’s just found the cream — promises justice, maximum payout, maybe even a court battle that will “teach the employer a lesson” and render the employee a workplace hero.

Except the employer has already uttered the seven magic words: “You’re fired. Effective one year from today.”

The lawsuit is dead on arrival.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is working notice. The most powerful — and sadly underused — weapon in the employer’s arsenal.

Every day or week of working notice reduces the employee’s wrongful dismissal entitlement by the same period of time. Only minimum statutory severance pay (for those employees entitled to it, in the provinces that have it) cannot be offset by working notice. But statutory severance is a small fraction of wrongful dismissal damages.

So why don’t companies use it? Often, it’s because of corporate timidity. Instead of pulling out the legal bazooka sitting right on their desk, executives meekly sign oversized severance cheques and hope the employee goes away quietly. It’s cowardice dressed up as “best practice.”

There are obviously instances where working notice can backfire. Some employees might resort to sabotage or destroy the morale of colleagues. It’s also likely they will not work as hard. But these employees can have their performance tracked and they...

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