How understood must an employee&#39;s firing be in order to be effective?
<p>I used to work as a contractor for a construction company, when one day, a manager brought me over and casually said "I'm letting you go."  So I checked out early because I had asked to go home early that day.  </p>

<p>I come back the next 3 days and work, business as usually, when on the third day the same manager appeared and became irate with me still being on the field.  I had apparently been dismissed when he said "let go" and refused to pay me for the time I had worked already.  </p>

<p>I had threatened legal action and he eventually surrendered what he owed me, but now I am wondering how it might've played out had he not.</p>

<p>My question here is, how clear must an employer's language be before an employee's dismissal is effective?</p>

<p>"I'm letting you go" <em>can</em> mean "I'm terminating your employment" but it can also mean "I'm letting you go home now since you asked to leave early".</p>

<p>Terminating s contract is effective when one party communicates it to the other party. The onus is on the initiating party to make sure that the communication is clear and unambiguous.</p>

<p>There are no certainties but you would probably have won.</p>

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