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In a highly unusual move, an Okanagan construction worker has circumnavigated B.C. employment law and managed to get $3,000 out of his employer when he was laid off.

The employer argued it didn't have to pay him because under the BC Employment Standards Act construction workers aren't entitled to severance pay when they're laid-off.

However, the painter took his former boss to the online small claims court which ruled in his favour.

The details are laid out in a Feb. 7 BC Civil Resolution Tribunal decision, which says painter Iain Lewis was hired by Kelowna firm Hanington Painting in May 2022.

The company paid Lewis $20 an hour but at the end of the following summer laid him off, with no severance pay.

On Lewis' record of employment, Hanington Painting listed "shortage of work/end of contract or season" as the reason for Lewis' unemployment.

Lewis then took his former employer to the Civil Resolution Tribunal arguing he was owed severance pay.

The decision said that under the Employment Standards Act companies have to compensate workers if they are laid off without cause. The law states employees get one week of pay for each year worked up to eight weeks.

However, the Employment Standards Act also states that this rule doesn't apply to companies whose main business is construction.

"Hanington says its principal business is construction and Mr. Lewis worked at one or more construction sites. So, it argues this means Mr. Lewis is not entitled to any compensation," the decision read.

READ MORE: Two Okanagan companies hit with hefty fines for safety violations

However, the Tribunal disagreed.

"I find Mr. Lewis is not claiming compensation under the Employment Standards Act. He is claiming compensation for damages under the common law," the Tribunal ruled.

It appears that if Lewis had followed standard protocol and launched his case with the Employment Standards Tribunal he wouldn't have been successful.

But taking his employer to the Civil Resolution Tribunal got him a different outcome.

"Under the common law, there is an implied term in an employment agreement that an employee is entitled to a reasonable amount of notice before losing their job," the Tribunal said. "Instead of providing a reasonable amount of notice, an employer normally pays the employee as if they worked the notice period."

In the decision, Lewis argued he found another job by the end of the month so should be paid $2,880, which is three weeks of severance.

"Mr. Lewis worked for 15 months as a painter. He was also able to find similar employment within three weeks of the layoff," the Tribunal said. "I find three weeks is reasonable under the circumstances."

Ultimately, the Tribunal ordered Hanington Painting to pay Lewis $2,880 plus fees and interest.

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