Termination and Severance Pay in Saskatchewan

If you are losing a job in Saskatchewan, you may hear the word "severance" used loosely to describe money owed when employment ends. Saskatchewan does not have a separate statutory severance pay entitlement the way some other jurisdictions do. Instead, The Saskatchewan Employment Act requires notice of termination, or pay instead of notice, based on how long the employee has worked for the employer.

This page walks through the statutory notice schedule, how pay instead of notice is calculated, when notice is not required, and how common law "reasonable notice" can go well beyond the legislated minimums for many non-union employees dismissed without cause. It covers provincially regulated employment in Saskatchewan. For the national picture, see Canada employment law and severance pay in Canada.

Termination Pay Versus Severance Pay in Saskatchewan

In some Canadian jurisdictions, and under the federal Canada Labour Code, "severance pay" is a distinct payment layered on top of notice of termination. Saskatchewan does not have this separate entitlement for provincially regulated employees.

Instead, The Saskatchewan Employment Act (the Act) requires an employer to give an employee written notice before ending employment, or to pay the employee's normal wages for the notice period instead. Many people casually call this "severance pay," but under Saskatchewan law it is properly termination notice, or termination pay in lieu of notice, and there is no additional statutory severance layered on top of it.

This distinction matters for federally regulated workers too. Employees of banks, airlines, telecommunications companies, and other federally regulated employers in Saskatchewan are covered by the Canada Labour Code instead, which does include its own separate statutory severance pay provision. This page addresses provincially regulated employment only.

Who Is Covered by the Notice Requirement

The statutory notice requirement generally applies once an employee has worked for the same employer for more than 13 consecutive weeks. Employees below that threshold, including many still in an initial period of employment, are generally not entitled to statutory notice or pay in lieu under the Act.

The requirement covers most non-union employees under the relevant part of the Act. Some arrangements are treated differently, including genuine fixed-term contracts or specific projects that end on their stated completion date, and certain construction industry positions tied to a project's foreseeable end.

An employer cannot contract out of these minimums. A written employment agreement promising less notice than the Act requires is not enforceable to that extent, even where the employee has signed it.

Minimum Notice of Termination by Length of Service

These are minimums set out in the Act. An employer may always provide more notice, or more pay instead of notice, than the law requires, and an employment contract can validly set a longer notice period, as long as it never falls below the statutory floor.

How Pay Instead of Notice Is Calculated

When an employer chooses to pay wages instead of giving working notice, the employee is generally paid based on their normal wages for the length of the required notice period. For employees with steady, predictable pay, this is usually a straightforward calculation of regular wages across the notice weeks owed.

For employees whose earnings vary from week to week, such as those paid partly by commission or with fluctuating hours, a normal week's wage is generally averaged over the 13 weeks worked before notice was given, excluding overtime.

Final pay, including any outstanding pay instead of notice, vacation pay, and other amounts owing, must generally be paid out within a set number of days after the employee's last day worked. If a regular payday falls within that period, the employee is still entitled to be paid on that date for the applicable pay period.

When an Employer Does Not Have to Give Notice

An employer generally does not need to give notice, or pay instead of notice, where there is just cause for dismissal. Just cause typically means serious misconduct, such as theft, violence, or a pattern of serious problems going to the core of the employment relationship. It is a high bar and is assessed on the specific facts of each case, not on an employer's general dissatisfaction with an employee's performance.

Notice is also generally not required when a genuine fixed-term contract or specific project ends on its stated date, or in certain other circumstances set out in the Act and its regulations, such as some construction industry positions tied to project completion.

Because just cause disputes are common and fact-specific, an employee told they were dismissed for cause, but who disagrees, may want an independent review of whether that standard was actually met before accepting the employer's position.

Group Terminations Follow Different Rules

When an employer plans to terminate a larger number of employees within a short period, such as during a facility closure or major restructuring, additional group termination rules apply under the Act. These generally require written notice to Saskatchewan's Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety, to the affected employees, and to any union involved, identifying the number of employees affected, the termination dates, and the reasons for termination.

The employee-count threshold and additional notice period for group terminations are separate from, and in addition to, the individual notice schedule above. This threshold has changed in recent amendments to the Act, so employers and employees dealing with a larger layoff should confirm the current group termination rules directly with Saskatchewan's employment standards office rather than relying on an older figure.

Common Law Reasonable Notice Can Exceed the Minimum

The notice schedule in the Act is a floor, not a ceiling. Many non-union employees dismissed without cause, and without an enforceable contract clause limiting them to the statutory minimum, may also have a common law claim for "reasonable notice," a body of law Saskatchewan courts apply alongside the statutory scheme.

Reasonable notice is not read off a table. Courts weigh what are commonly called the Bardal factors, generally including the employee's age, length of service, the character or seniority of the position, and how readily comparable employment is available given the employee's training and experience. These factors are considered together rather than mechanically.

Common law notice is often substantially longer than the statutory minimum, particularly for longer-serving or more senior employees, though courts in Saskatchewan, as elsewhere in Canada, rarely award more than roughly 24 months except in unusual circumstances. A clearly worded employment contract can validly limit an employee to the statutory minimum instead of common law notice, but a clause that is poorly drafted, or that attempts to contract below the Act's minimums, may not be enforceable, in which case the employee can fall back on a full common law claim. For more on how this works, see reasonable notice.

What to Do if You Are Dismissed

If you lose your job in Saskatchewan, it is worth reviewing your length of service, any written employment contract, and the circumstances of the dismissal before assuming a particular outcome. The amount of notice or pay that applies depends on these specific facts.

Saskatchewan's employment standards office can answer questions about the statutory minimums and help with complaints about unpaid termination pay. Common law reasonable notice claims are a separate legal track from the statutory process and can be more complex, so many employees consult an employment lawyer before signing a release or accepting an employer's offer, particularly after a longer period of service or in a senior role.

This page is part of RecordingLaw's broader look at Canada employment law. For rules in other provinces, see Canadian law by province.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about termination notice and pay in lieu of notice rules in Saskatchewan. It is not legal advice and does not address every circumstance or exception, including group terminations, exempt occupations, or unionized workplaces governed by a collective agreement. Employment standards rules change over time, and individual outcomes depend on specific facts, including the wording of any employment contract. Anyone facing a termination or considering a claim should review their own documents and, where the amounts involved are significant, consult a licensed Saskatchewan employment lawyer or contact Saskatchewan's employment standards office directly.