In Ontario, an employee with at least three months of continuous employment who's let go without enough written notice is owed termination pay: a lump sum equal to their regular wages for the notice weeks they missed. The notice runs from 1 week for under a year of employment up to 8 weeks for 8 years or more, and vacation pay is added on top.
Termination pay is easy to confuse with severance pay. They're separate entitlements under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), and some people get both. This page covers termination pay only, from the Ontario government's ESA guide, as of October 2026.
How many weeks you're owed
| Period of employment | Notice (or termination pay) required |
|---|---|
| Less than 1 year | 1 week |
| 1 year but less than 3 years | 2 weeks |
| 3 years but less than 4 years | 3 weeks |
| 4 years but less than 5 years | 4 weeks |
| 5 years but less than 6 years | 5 weeks |
| 6 years but less than 7 years | 6 weeks |
| 7 years but less than 8 years | 7 weeks |
| 8 years or more | 8 weeks |
An employer can give written notice, termination pay, or a mix, as long as the notice weeks plus the pay weeks add up to your entitlement. Your period of employment includes time off sick, on leave or on lay-off while the relationship continued. If two periods of employment are separated by more than 13 weeks, only the most recent counts.
How termination pay is calculated
- Work out your regular wages for a regular work week: your non-overtime rate times your usual non-overtime hours.
- If your hours vary, average your regular wages over the weeks you worked in the 12 weeks before notice (weeks off sick are left out).
- Multiply by the number of weeks you're owed.
- Add vacation pay on that total at your usual rate.
The ESA guide's two worked examples, as of October 2026:
| Sarah (fixed hours) | Gerry (varying hours) | |
|---|---|---|
| Service | 3.5 years: 3 weeks | 4 years: 4 weeks |
| Weekly regular wages | $20.00 x 40 hours = $800.00 | $1,800.00 over the 10 weeks worked = $180.00 |
| Termination pay | $800.00 x 3 = $2,400.00 | $180.00 x 4 = $720.00 |
| Vacation pay added | 4% = $96.00 | 6% = $43.20 |
| Total | $2,496.00 | $763.20 |
Notice Gerry's calculation. He was off sick for 2 of the 12 weeks, so his $1,800.00 is divided by 10 weeks, not 12. Dividing by 12 would have shortchanged him. That's the error we'd check first on any varying-hours final pay.
If you're given working notice instead
Working notice comes with rules too. During the statutory notice period the employer can't cut your wage rate or change any other term of your employment, must keep up benefit plan contributions, and must pay at least your regular wages for a regular work week each week. It can't schedule your vacation inside the notice period unless you agree after getting the written notice.
Written notice must be addressed to you and can be given in person or by mail, fax or email, as long as delivery can be verified. If the employer gives you more notice than the law requires, the statutory part is the last part of the period, ending on your termination date. And if you're asked to do some temporary work in the 13 weeks after that date, the original termination date stands.
Benefits and the payment deadline
Termination pay doesn't end your benefits early. The employer must keep making the contributions needed to maintain your benefit and pension plans for the full notice period, even though you're paid out. The lump sum must be paid seven days after your employment ends or on your next regular pay date, whichever is later.
Who doesn't get termination pay
- Employees with less than three months of continuous employment.
- Employees guilty of wilful misconduct, disobedience or wilful neglect of duty that isn't trivial and hasn't been condoned.
- Construction employees.
- Employees on a temporary lay-off.
- Employees who refuse an offer of reasonable alternative employment.
The ESA doesn't require the employer to give a reason, but it can't end your employment, even with full notice, if any part of the reason is that you asked about or used an ESA right.
When a lay-off or a quit counts as termination
A lay-off longer than a temporary lay-off is treated as a termination from its first day. Generally that's more than 13 weeks in any 20 consecutive weeks, or longer in specific situations, such as the employer continuing benefits or substantial payments, or an extended lay-off approved by the Director of Employment Standards. Resigning within a reasonable time after a constructive dismissal also counts: for example, a big pay cut or a 'quit or be fired' ultimatum. Our guide to constructive dismissal explains that concept.
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Mass terminations
If 50 or more employees at one establishment are terminated within four weeks, notice depends on numbers, not service: 8 weeks for 50 to 199 people, 12 weeks for 200 to 499, and 16 weeks for 500 or more. Since 26 October 2023, a remote worker's home can count as an establishment for that headcount.
Severance pay is a separate calculation: see our guide to severance pay in Ontario, and the Employment Standards Act overview for the wider rules.
The verdict
If you've been let go in Ontario with no notice, count your full years of employment, find your weeks in the table, and multiply your regular weekly wages, then add vacation pay. If your hours varied, make sure sick weeks were taken out of the average. If the sum lands late, after the later of seven days or your next payday, you're within your rights to chase it.
A related route is settling with notice in lieu, which I cover in my guide to PILON and notice in lieu.
Frequently asked questions
How much termination pay do you get in Ontario?
Regular wages for the notice weeks you didn't receive: 1 week under a year, rising to 8 weeks for 8 years or more, plus vacation pay.
When must termination pay be paid in Ontario?
Seven days after employment ends or on the next regular pay date, whichever is later.
Is termination pay the same as severance pay in Ontario?
No. They're separate entitlements under the Employment Standards Act, and some employees receive both.
Who isn't entitled to termination pay in Ontario?
Employees with under three months of employment, those guilty of wilful misconduct, construction employees, those on temporary lay-off and those who refuse reasonable alternative work, among others.
