For employers: planning a termination? Use our severance calculator for employers to estimate what you may owe.

How severance works in Ontario

If you are a non-union employee in Ontario and you are let go without cause, you are usually owed two things. The first is the minimum set by the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). The second is common law reasonable notice, unless a valid clause in your contract limits you to the ESA minimum. The ESA minimum follows a fixed formula. Common law notice is usually much longer and depends on your circumstances.

The ESA minimum: notice or termination pay

Once you have worked for at least three months, your employer must give you written notice or pay in place of notice:

• Less than 1 year of service: 1 week
• 1 year to less than 3 years: 2 weeks
• 3 years or more: 1 week for each full year, up to 8 weeks

When 50 or more employees are let go at one location within four weeks, the minimum can rise to 8, 12 or 16 weeks, depending on how many people are affected.

ESA severance pay

Severance pay is owed on top of notice if you have at least five years of service and either:

• your employer's payroll is $2.5 million or more a year, counting employees everywhere, or
• you are one of 50 or more employees let go within six months because all or part of the business closed permanently.

It equals one week of regular pay for each year of service, with partial years counted by completed months, up to 26 weeks.

Common law reasonable notice

Ontario courts weigh the factors from Bardal v. Globe & Mail: your age, your length of service, the kind of job you held, and how hard it will be to find similar work. The ESA minimums are part of this amount, not added to it. Awards above 24 months are rare and reserved for exceptional cases. You are expected to look for new work, and income from a new job can reduce what you receive, depending on how your package is structured.

Termination clauses

Many employment contracts try to limit what you get to the ESA minimum. Whether a clause like that holds up depends on its exact wording and the rest of the contract, so it is the first thing a review checks.

Frequently asked questions

How much severance do I get after 10 years in Ontario?

Under the ESA, 8 weeks of notice or termination pay, plus 10 weeks of severance pay if you qualify for it. At common law it depends on your age, role and job market, which is what the calculator above estimates.

Do I have to sign a severance offer?

No. Your ESA minimums are owed whether or not you sign anything. If an offer asks you to sign a release in exchange for more, have it reviewed before the deadline.

Does this apply if I am unionized or federally regulated?

No. Union members' rights on termination are dealt with under their collective agreement, usually through the grievance process. Employees of federally regulated employers, such as banks, airlines, railways, telecom companies and interprovincial trucking companies, are covered by the Canada Labour Code instead of the ESA.

What if my employer says it had cause to fire me?

Just cause is a high bar, and the test for losing your ESA minimums is stricter still. The calculator assumes you were let go without cause, so an allegation of cause is worth discussing with a lawyer.

Is the information I enter stored?

No. The calculator runs in your browser and nothing you enter is sent to us.

This page gives general information about Ontario law, not legal advice. Last reviewed November 2026.