How much notice is required when terminating employment in Canada?

Employment termination notice requirements in Canada come from two sources: statutory minimums (set by provincial employment standards legislation) and common law reasonable notice (set by courts). Statutory minimums are absolute floors — in Ontario, for example, the ESA requires 1 week per year up to 8 weeks, plus severance pay for employees with 5+ years in larger organisations. Other provinces have similar but not identical rules.

Common law reasonable notice is usually longer than statutory minimums and is what courts will award if the employment contract does not contain a valid termination clause limiting notice to statutory minimums. Reasonable notice is determined case by case using the Bardal factors. A general rule of thumb is 1 month per year of service for professional or managerial employees — a 10-year manager might get 10–12 months' reasonable notice. Some older, long-tenured employees receive even more.

Most employers pay in lieu of notice (a lump sum or salary continuation) rather than requiring the employee to work through the notice period. Pay in lieu must include not just base salary but also all compensation the employee would have earned — bonuses, benefits, pension contributions, and car allowances — during the notice period.