This blog aims to dive a little deeper into the topic of notice of termination. Specifically, we will look closer at the statutory entitlement to notice under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”).
To remind our readers, in this context employees are non-unionized and have been dismissed without cause.
What is Notice of Termination?
When an employee has been dismissed from their job, the employer must provide the employee with either written notice of the termination, termination pay in lieu of that notice or a combination of both. Termination pay is simply monetary compensation to the employee in lieu of notice of the termination. Sometimes the employer will provide no notice to the employee or less notice than what the employee should have received from the employer as set out under the ESA. In that case, the employee may sue the employer for wrongful dismissal or file a claim with Ontario’s Ministry of Labour.
Notice of termination or termination pay under the ESA is not severance pay. These two terms are unique even though they are often used interchangeably and are also commonly confused with one another. To qualify for severance, employees need to meet certain other criteria set out in the ESA. Those criteria are:
- The employee must have worked for the employer for five or more years.
- The employer must have a global payroll of at least $2.5 million, or they severed 50 or more employees within a six-month period because all or part of the employer’s business is permanently closed.
If the employee’s employment does not meet the above two criteria, they are not eligible for severance pay.
Statutory Notice vs. the Common Law
The amount of termination pay can be calculated statutorily as set out in the ESA. These amounts are minimum entitlements. The employee may be entitled to a longer notice of termination period under the common law. However, it is only if the employee’s employment agreement or contract does not contain an enforceable termination clause limiting the employee’s compensation to the entitlements under the ESA, that the employee may be also entitled to compensation for pay in lieu of reasonable notice at common law. The employer cannot contract out of the employee’s statutory entitlements in the ESA.
Statutory Notice Periods
The notice period as set out in ESA is based on years of service (which means the length of employment the employee had with the employer) and it works out to 1 week of notice per 1 year of service up to 8 weeks. Further, the ESA mandates that employees must receive written notice of termination which can be addressed to the employee. Written notice may be sent via regular mail or through email.
Employers can choose to pay termination pay in lieu of the notice period. This amount would be paid to the employee in a lump sum equal to the wages they would have earned during the notice period. Also, an employee earns vacation pay on their termination pay.
Finally, termination pay must be paid to an employee either 7 days after the employee’s employment is terminated or on the employee’s next regular pay date (whichever date is later).
| Length of Service | Notice Period |
| Under 3 Months | 0 |
| 3 Months to Under 1 Year | 1 Week |
| 1 Year to Under 3 Years | 2 Weeks |
| 3 Years to Under 4 Years | 3 Weeks |
| 4 Years to Under 5 Years | 4 Weeks |
| 5 Years to Under 6 Years | 5 Weeks |
| 6 Years to Under 7 Years | 6 Weeks |
| 7 Years to Under 8 Years | 7 Weeks |
| 8 Years or More | 8 Weeks (maximum) |
During the statutory notice period, the employe cannot reduce the employee’s wages or change any term of their employment. This includes benefits.
How Zeilikman Law Can Help
Any employee who has questions about notice of termination or termination pay should approach an employment lawyer to review their own specific case to ensure that their employment rights are protected. Failing to reach out to an employment lawyer may result in the employee failing to obtain their full legal entitlements to compensation related to notice of termination or termination pay.
If our readers would like additional information about notice of termination, we have several other blogs that they may want to review:
- Termination Pay in Ontario: 2026 Guide to Rights & Entitlements
- 3 Key Things to Know About Termination Without Cause in Ontario
Zeilikman Law can be contacted at (905) 417-2227 or online here to schedule your own confidential consultation with one of our employment lawyers.
