We have consolidated resources aimed at helping workers affected by layoffs. We recommend you read the entire page, but if you want to learn more about a specific topic, please click below to fast-scroll to that topic:


Financial & Social Supports

Termination Pay

Though sometimes used interchangeably, termination pay and severance pay are not the same thing. While all employees of three months or longer with a company are entitled to termination pay (in place of notice) upon dismissal, not everyone is entitled to severance pay. Visit the Ontario government’s website to learn more about the laws surrounding termination pay, including how much notice your employer needs to give you, by clicking here.

Severance Pay & Legal Advice

Visit the Ontario government’s website to learn more about the laws surrounding severance pay, including your rights, by clicking here. Only an employment lawyer can give you legal advice, so if you’re looking for legal advice, please contact a lawyer through a family member, friend, union, yellowpages or use the Legal Aid Ontario’s Lawyer Search Tool.  You could also contact the Windsor Legal Aid Office to see if they can help. They are located at 185 City Hall Square South, Windsor, Ontario, N9A 6W5. Their telephone number is (519) 255-7822.

Community Mediation

Family Services Windsor-Essex’s Community Mediation Windsor-Essex (CMWE) helps individuals and families resolve conflicts or disagreements between: neighbours, roommates, colleagues, classmates, or family members; landlord and tenant issues that have not gone to court; conflicts at school, community groups, or workplaces; other interpersonal conflicts. Community Mediation is a collaborative process where volunteer mediators help people with a conflict/disagreement to resolve the situation themselves through a safe, voluntary, and mutually agreeable process. Community mediation helps people reach agreements, while rebuilding the relationships between people in conflict, empowering them to solve their own problems in the future and transforming the way they think about conflict and each other.

Income Tax Completion Service

Family Services Windsor-Essex offers Income Tax Completion Services, which is a free service that completes and files an individual’s personal income tax return and helps to ensure individuals/families are accessing all available government benefits. This service is available for individuals and couples whose income falls below the low-income rates and has a simple tax situation. See website for eligibility criteria.

Employment Insurance

Apply for Employment Insurance (EI) benefits. Visit the Government of Canada’s website to learn more about Employment Insurance, including how to file, by visiting www.canada.ca. Also, you may be eligible to take training/re-training while collecting EI benefits. To learn more about EI and training visit www.canada.ca.

Ontario Works

If you’re ineligible for Employment Insurance or have exhausted your benefits already, you should contact Ontario Works to learn about social assistance. In Windsor-Essex, the regional service provider is the City of Windsor, who has offices in Windsor and Leamington. You can get their office addresses and learn more about applying for Ontario Works by visiting www.citywindsor.ca.

Financial Fitness Program

During these uncertain economic times, Family Services Windsor-Essex wants people to know that they are here to help working families and those on fixed incomes through their Financial Fitness Program. Since 1968, they have helped tens of thousands of people improve their financial condition. Family Services Windsor-Essex is a not-for-profit whose focus is on what is best for each person or family. If you are concerned about credit card or other overwhelming debt, Financial Fitness wants people to know that there are debt management solutions for every financial problem.

Forms and Applications Completion Service

This free service from Family Services Windsor-Essex helps people complete various forms and applications. Typical forms are shown on the website.

Job Loss Insurance

Prior to receiving your layoff notice, had you purchased layoff insurance for your mortgage, car or another debt? Look through your paperwork and if so, contact your lender and/or insurance provider to determine how to apply for support.

Child Care Coverage for Appointments

The Connections Early Years Family Centre offers a program to parents (who qualify) an opportunity to leave their children 0-6 years of age at the Centre for a short period of time while they attend medical, legal, social service or counselling appointments, job interviews or workshops. If you think this service could help you in the future, you should reach out to them in advance to see how you qualify, signup and notify them about future appointments.

Ontario Child Care Tax Credit

Starting with the 2019 tax year, the government is providing families with a tax credit to help reduce child care costs. Ontario’s Child Care Tax Credit gives parents the flexibility to access a broad range of child care choices, including care in centres, homes, camps, and other settings. To learn more, visit https://www.ontario.ca/page/ontario-child-care-tax-credit.

Food Banks

The Windsor & Essex County Food Bank Association has a webpage of food bank member organizations to help you find a food bank closest to you. To learn more visit http://wefba.ca.

Health Care and Drug Plan

If you have high prescription-drug costs compared to your household income you might qualify for the Trillium Drug Program. To learn more visit www.ontario.ca.

OHIP+ provides more than 4,400 drug products at no cost for anyone age 24 years or younger who is not covered by a private plan. You don’t need to enroll — all you need is a health card number and an eligible prescription. To learn more click www.ontario.ca.

Windsor-Essex Housing Connections (WEHC)

Windsor-Essex Housing Connections (WEHC) is a partnership of agencies who work together to help people/families find affordable, rental housing, and end the cycle of homelessness. Review the website to see which agency can best assist your housing search.

Mental Health Services

The Canadian Mental Health Association of Windsor-Essex website has a wide range of mental health services that are available in our community. To learn more visit https://windsoressex.cmha.ca.

Family Services Windsor-Essex offers Walk-in Wellness Counselling options, available five days a week. They have free Walk-in Wellness Small Group Counselling Workshops (on common areas of concern) and Walk-in Individual Counselling Sessions. Affordable counselling fees are determined through a sliding scale that is based on household income, family size, and ability to pay. Subsidies are available and no one is turned away due to their inability to pay.


Job Finding Tools

The region’s largest job board

Search 55+ national, provincial and local job boards at the same time by using our job finding tools. The tools below search job postings from Indeed, Canada’s Job Bank, Charity Village, Eluta, Jobillico, Lucas Works, Unemployed Help Centre, City of Windsor Employment & Training Services Job Board, and more. If where you work is just as important as what you do, use our WEmap Jobs tool. If you’re researching in-demand jobs, use our WEexplore careers tool.

Job Postings by Email

Sign up to receive new job postings and information about upcoming job fairs and training opportunities in your inbox.

Upcoming Job Fairs

Learn how to find, prepare and succeed at job fairs.

Add your Resume to our Database

With more than 5,000 resumes in our database, we continue to collect resumes of unemployed and underemployed individuals as well as from the general public so that we can assist employers by finding candidates for their position vacancies. The database also gives us a snapshot of the skills sets that are available for hire when businesses are relocating to the region.


Employment Services

Job Search & Resume Help, Apprenticeships, and Second Career Re-Training Program

If you’re looking for no-charge, in-person help with your job search, updating your resume, starting your apprenticeship and/or re-training under Ontario’s Second Career program, please contact a local Employment Ontario service provider. Employment Ontario service providers are funded by the government to help you find new employment. Use our WEsearch tool to find a provider near you by clicking here.

Apprenticeship Grants & Career Research

For detailed information about the region’s top 26 in-demand skilled trades occupations and information about grants, visit our page below.


Skills Upgrading for Adults

Upcoming Training Opportunities

View upcoming short-term training opportunities in the region.

Upgrading Core Skills

If you’re looking for no-charge, in-person help with upgrading foundational skills such as reading, spelling, writing, math, and/or computers, please contact a local Literacy & Basic Skills service provider. Use our WEsearch tool to find a provider near you by clicking here.

Earning your High School Diploma

If you’re looking for no-charge, in-person help with completing high school, please contact a service provider. Use our WEsearch tool to find the right program for your goals by clicking here.

Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteering can help you build skills, expand your professional network and in some cases may lead to future work opportunities. To help you find potential volunteer opportunities that align with your interests, view this page.


Learn About Hiring Trends

View our job demand report to better understand what kind of jobs employers are posting in national, provincial and local job boards.