Employment relationships can be ended by either an employer or employee. In most cases, the legislation requires the person ending the employment to give notice.
No. A lay-off is a temporary break in employment where employees are likely to return to work. Employers do not need to provide notice to employees that they are being laid off. However, if the lay-off is longer than 8 weeks in a 16 week period, the lay-off becomes a termination and notice is required.
In the following circumstances, lay-offs do not become terminations even if they are longer than 8 weeks in a 16 week period:
• When employers continue to pay wages or payments instead of wages to employees, or• When employers continue to make payments to pension plans and/or group insurance plans on behalf of employees.
Temporary help employees are subject to additional rules when determining a layoff period, see Temporary Help Agency fact sheet.
The time an employee is on layoff during the period between March 1, 2020 and October 21, 2021 will not count toward the 8 weeks out of a 16-week period used to determine when a temporary layoff is deemed a termination. The state of emergency does not affect when the first day of the layoff occurred. The state of emergency simply paused the counting of the 8 weeks. The state of emergency ended on October 21, 2021 at 4:00 pm. If a layoff started before March 1, 2020, does that time count towards the 8 weeks? Yes. Any period of time that employees were laid off prior to March 1, 2020 will count towards the 8 weeks. If the layoff is longer than 8 weeks, without including the period between March 1, 2020 and the date the state of emergency ends, the layoff becomes permanent (i.e. termination), and wages in lieu of notice must be paid. The employment is deemed to have been terminated without notice on the first day of the layoff. If a layoff starts after March 1, 2020 or any time during the state of emergency, does this time count towards the 8 weeks? No. Any period of time employees are laid off during the state of emergency (between March 1, 2020 and the end of the declared state of emergency) does not count towards the 8 weeks. However, counting does begin on the date the state of emergency ends. If the layoff reaches 8 weeks in a 16-week period, the layoff becomes permanent (i.e. termination) and wages in lieu of notice must be paid. The employment is deemed to have been terminated without notice on the first day of the layoff.
Employers must pay wages in lieu of notice based on the employee's length of service. Wages in lieu of notice must be paid within 10 working days from the date on which the deemed termination was triggered. **Remember termination is triggered after an employee is laid off for a total of 8 weeks within a 16-week period.
Notice of termination is the period of time an employee or an employer is required to give the other before ending employment. Employees continue to work their regular hours and perform their regular duties at the same rate of pay during the notice period.
| Period of Employment | Notice Period |
| At least 30 days but less than one year | One week |
| At least one year | Two weeks |
| Period of employment | Notice period |
| At least 30 days but less than one year | One week |
| At least one year and less than three years | Two weeks |
| At least three years and less than five years | Four weeks |
| At least five years and less than ten years | Six weeks |
| At least ten years | Eight weeks |
Employers can either allow the employee to work out this notice period, or pay wages in lieu of notice for the same number of weeks, or a combination of both.
Yes. Employers and employees do not need to give notice of termination when the employee has been employed for less than 30 days. Employers are not allowed to extend or change this period unless it is negotiated in a collective agreement with a union.
Employers can pay the amount of wages employees would otherwise have received had they worked out the notice period (often called wages in lieu of notice). Employers can also allow employees to work for part of the notice period and pay wages in lieu of notice for the remainder.
Employees who work the same hours every week receive their regular earnings for wages in lieu of notice. For employees who work varying hours every week, wages in lieu are based on the average of the earnings for regular weekly hours worked over the last 6 month period. Vacation wages and overtime wages are not added to wages paid in lieu of notice.
The following are some cases where notice of termination is not required:
Employers must consider each situation on a case by case basis if deciding not to provide a notice period to an employee.
No. Employers must pay out all wages the employee has earned up until the last day worked. Employers must pay employees all earned wages within 10 business days of the last day of work. An employer can pursue any lost money through civil court.
Employers cannot give less than the required notice period. These are the minimum standards for notice and any agreement between an employee and employer that is less than the minimum is not valid.
The only exclusion is in a unionized workplace where a collective agreement exists.
Employers are not allowed to terminate employees because they have taken or requested a legislated leave of absence from work. More information can be found on the Unpaid Leaves fact sheet.
The Human Rights Code, The Workplace Safety and Health Act, and The Labour Relations Act all deal with issues around ending employment. More information about other government departments can be found on the Other Government Support page.
There is also civil employment law covering termination issues. Employers and employees should consult a lawyer if they have questions about civil law.
Employers who intend to terminate a group of 50 or more employees within four weeks must notify the Minister of Labour and Immigration and provide more notice than for an individual termination.
| Number of Employees | Notice Required |
| 50 to 100 | 10 weeks |
| 101 to 299 | 14 weeks |
| 300 or more | 18 weeks |
No. Employers are only required to pay employees for hours worked.
Employers can provide greater benefits such as paid sick leave or family leave but are not required to do so.
Phone: 204-945-3352 or toll free in Canada 1-800-821-4307
This is a general overview and the information used is subject to change. For detailed information, please refer to current legislation including The Employment Standards Code, The Construction Industry Wages Act , The Worker Recruitment and Protection Act, or contact Employment Standards.
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