How Much Severance Am I Entitled to in Canada?
Last updated: March 2026 | MyWorkRights.ca
Quick Answer
Statutory minimums are just the floor. Most Canadian employees are entitled to common law reasonable notice, which considers your age, years of service, role, and job market conditions. This can range from a few weeks to 24+ months of total compensation. Never sign a severance offer without legal advice.
The Short Answer
Your severance entitlement depends on whether you are federally or provincially regulated, how long you have worked for your employer, your age, your role, and how easy it would be to find comparable work. Statutory minimums set by employment standards legislation are just the floor. Most employees are entitled to significantly more under common law reasonable notice. If your employer offers you only the statutory minimum, you should consult a lawyer before accepting.
Federal Statutory Severance
Under the Canada Labour Code (CLC s.235), federally regulated employees who have completed at least 12 consecutive months of continuous employment are entitled to severance pay equal to two days of regular wages for each completed year of service, with a minimum of five days. This is in addition to any notice or pay in lieu of notice. For example, an employee with 10 years of service would receive at least 20 days of severance pay. This is the statutory minimum for federal employees, and it applies to workers in banking, telecommunications, airlines, interprovincial transportation, and other federally regulated industries.
Provincial Statutory Minimums
Each province sets its own minimum notice and severance requirements through its Employment Standards Act. In Ontario, minimum notice ranges from one week (after three months) to eight weeks (after eight or more years). Ontario also requires severance pay of one week per year of service (up to 26 weeks) for employees with five or more years of service at companies with a payroll of $2.5 million or more. In British Columbia, minimum notice ranges from one week (after three months) to eight weeks (after eight or more years), but there is no separate statutory severance pay. Alberta requires one to eight weeks of notice depending on length of service. Quebec provides one to eight weeks based on years of continuous service. These are minimums only.
Common Law Reasonable Notice
Canadian courts have established that employees are entitled to reasonable notice of termination (or pay in lieu), which is almost always more than the statutory minimum. The landmark case Bardal v. Globe & Mail Ltd. (1960) established the factors courts consider: the employee's age, length of service, character of employment (seniority and type of role), and the availability of similar employment given the employee's experience, training, and qualifications. Courts regularly award between 1 and 24 months of reasonable notice. A general (but very rough) guideline is approximately one month per year of service, though this varies widely based on the Bardal factors.
What Counts Toward Your Severance
Severance pay (or pay in lieu of reasonable notice) should reflect your total compensation, not just your base salary. This includes regular wages, bonuses (if they were a regular and expected part of your compensation), commissions, car allowances, employer pension contributions, health and dental benefit premiums, stock options or RSUs that would have vested during the notice period, and any other benefits you received as part of your employment. Your employer cannot reduce your entitlement by excluding these components.
Factors That Increase Your Entitlement
Several factors can increase your severance entitlement beyond the rough one-month-per-year guideline. Older employees typically receive longer notice periods because courts recognize they face greater difficulty finding new employment. Senior or specialized roles receive more notice because comparable positions are harder to find. Long service with a single employer is heavily weighted. Being hired away from a secure position (sometimes called inducement) can increase your entitlement. A weak job market in your industry or region is also relevant. In the 2020 decision Lynne Cottrill v. Utopia, the Ontario Superior Court awarded 26 months of notice, one of the highest awards in Canadian employment law.
Do Not Sign Immediately
When your employer presents a severance package, you are not required to sign it on the spot. In fact, you should never sign a termination or release document without first having it reviewed by an employment lawyer. Many initial severance offers are at or near the statutory minimum, which may be a fraction of what you are entitled to under common law. Once you sign a release, you typically waive your right to pursue any further claims. A lawyer can assess your full entitlement and negotiate on your behalf. Most employment lawyers offer a free or low-cost initial consultation.
Key Deadlines
In most provinces, you have two years from the date of termination to file a civil claim for wrongful dismissal (seeking common law reasonable notice). For federally regulated employees, the unjust dismissal complaint must be filed with the CIRB within 90 days (CLC s.240). If your termination involved discrimination or reprisal, additional timelines may apply: one year for a complaint to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, and 90 days for a reprisal complaint to the CIRB. Do not delay consulting a lawyer, as limitation periods can bar your claim permanently.