Ontario Severance Pay Calculator
Ontario is the one province with two separate statutory entitlements when your job ends: termination pay (notice, or pay in lieu of notice) and, for longer-service employees of larger employers, severance pay on top. Enter your service and weekly pay to see both.
Statutory minimum, Ontario
$12,000
12 weeks total · statutory minimum only
Notice (pay in lieu)
6 weeks
$6,000
Statutory severance
6 weeks
$6,000
Common-law reasonable notice (rough range)
4.5 to 7.5 monthsabout $19,500 to $32,500
For a non-unionized employee dismissed without cause, courts usually award far more than the statutory minimum, based on the Bardal factors (your age, length of service, the type of role, and how hard it is to find similar work). There is no formula, so this is a broad illustration, not a prediction. A valid termination clause in your contract can limit you to the statutory minimum, and awards rarely exceed roughly 24 months.
This tool estimates statutory minimums from each jurisdiction's employment-standards act (and the Canada Labour Code for federally regulated work), plus a rough reasonable-notice range (common law, or the Civil Code in Quebec). It is general information, not legal advice, and RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm or a government body. Your actual entitlement depends on your contract, the reason for the dismissal, and your full circumstances; a court, tribunal, or your provincial employment-standards office makes the binding calculation.
Check the first question before anything else: if you work for a bank, airline, interprovincial transport company, telecom or broadcaster, Canada Post, or another federally regulated employer, the Canada Labour Code applies instead of Ontario's law. Choose the federal option above.
Is There Statutory Severance Pay in Ontario?
Yes. Severance pay under section 64 is owed when you have worked for the employer for 5 years or more and either the employer's payroll is $2.5 million or more, or 50 or more employees are severed within 6 months because all or part of the business at an establishment permanently closes. It equals one week's regular wages for each completed year of employment plus a proportion for completed months, to a maximum of 26 weeks, and it is paid in addition to termination pay.
Ontario Notice Schedule
Minimum notice (or termination pay in its place) under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (s. 57), by length of continuous service:
| Length of service | Minimum notice or payment |
|---|---|
| Under 3 months | None |
| 6 months | 1 week |
| 1.5 years | 2 weeks |
| 3 years | 3 weeks |
| 5 years | 5 weeks |
| 7 years | 7 weeks |
| 10 years or more | 8 weeks |
Worked Example
An employee in Ontario with 7 years and 9 months of service (93 months) and regular pay of $1,200 a week is dismissed without cause and without working notice:
- Statutory notice for that service: 7 weeks, so 7 x $1,200 = $8,400 in pay in lieu of notice.
- Severance pay (payroll test met): 7.75 weeks (7 completed years plus 9/12), so 7.75 x $1,200 = $9,300.
- Statutory total: $17,700, the legal minimum.
- Common-law reasonable notice (a broad illustration, not a prediction): roughly 5.8 to 9.7 months, about $30,160 to $50,440.
How termination pay and severance pay stack
Termination pay replaces the notice your employer did not give. It runs from 1 week for service of at least 3 months up to 8 weeks at 8 years or more. Severance pay is a separate amount that compensates for the loss of a long-service job, so an employee who qualifies for both receives both.
For an individual termination, the most these two lines can add up to is 34 weeks (8 weeks of termination pay plus 26 weeks of severance pay). Mass terminations of 50 or more employees within 4 weeks carry longer notice under section 58 (8, 12 or 16 weeks, depending on how many employees are affected). These are floors set by the Act. If you are not bound by a valid termination clause, common-law reasonable notice is often much higher.
Employees dismissed for wilful misconduct, disobedience or wilful neglect of duty that is not trivial and has not been condoned by the employer are not entitled to either payment.
For the full picture, including exceptions and how disputes are decided, read Ontario severance pay: the full guide. To compare another province, use the Canada severance calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if my employer's payroll is under $2.5 million?
Then statutory severance pay is owed only if 50 or more employees are severed within 6 months because all or part of the business at an establishment permanently closes. Termination notice or pay (sections 57 and 61) is still owed either way.
How are partial years counted for severance pay?
Severance pay adds a proportion of a week for completed months beyond your completed years. For example, 7 years and 9 months of employment gives 7.75 weeks of severance pay.
Do I get termination pay and severance pay, or one or the other?
Both, if you qualify for both. They are separate entitlements under the Employment Standards Act and are added together.
Sources
- Employment Standards Act, 2000 (Ontario), ss. 54-65
- Ontario: Your guide to the ESA, Termination of employment
- Ontario: Your guide to the ESA, Severance pay
Law checked against these sources as of 2026-09-26. This calculator estimates statutory minimums and a rough reasonable-notice range. It is general information, not legal advice, and RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm or a government body. For advice on your situation, consult an employment lawyer licensed in Ontario.
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