Although Mitigation is a very important factor to take into account when assessing the reasonableness of an employer's severance package, the vast majority of employees are not familiar with this concept. In simple English, "Mitigation" addresses the obligations of an employee to find alternative employment, and the consequences of finding such employment.

To begin with, let us take the example of an employee whose common law entitlement to receive reasonable advance notice of termination entitles that employee to notice of eighteen months. On its face it appears that the employee is entitled to a severance payment equal to eighteen months' salary.

If that same employee accepts employment after 12 months of unemployment in a job which pays more than the previous position, the new employment will have an impact on the employee's monetary entitlement from the former employer. Because the employee after the initial 12 month period will not have suffered any further monetary loss as a result of termination of employment, that employee will have his or her claim for 18 months' severance reduced to 12 months.

An employee might conclude from this that there is no point in looking for another position, if the consequences will merely serve to benefit the employer. In response, the courts say that an employee who is wrongfully dismissed must make reasonable attempts to find comparable employment. An employee who is found to have made less than reasonable attempts is liable to have his or severance payment reduced, and in rare cases even eliminated.

A court will not scrutinize the employee under a magnifying glass, or second guess every aspect of the job search. Whether an employee has been successful in finding alternative employment does not determine whether the employee has acted properly. An employee who follows the above guidelines and keeps careful records of his or her attempts will almost certainly be able to satisfy the employee's obligations.

What constitutes "reasonable attempts"? There are no clear rules in this area. Reasonable attempts in seeking alternative employment will typically involve :