Severance Pay in BC: Compensation for Length of Service Explained

Those are the statutory minimums in section 63 of the Act, as explained on the Government of British Columbia's quit, fired or laid off pages in October 2026. If your contract promises more, the contract applies. If you think you're owed more than the Act gives, that's a question for an employment lawyer, not the Act.

How much compensation for length of service

Length of employment	Written notice and/or pay required
3 months or less	None
More than 3 months	1 week
More than 1 year	2 weeks
More than 3 years	3 weeks, plus 1 week for each additional year
Maximum	8 weeks

The province's example: someone with 2 years' service can be given 2 weeks of working notice, paid 2 weeks and let go immediately, or given 1 week of notice and 1 week of pay.

How to calculate a week's pay

1. Add up the employee's wages over the last 8 weeks they worked normal or average hours.
2. Include salary, commission, statutory holiday pay and paid vacation.
3. Leave out overtime.
4. Divide the total by 8 to get one week's pay.
5. Multiply by the number of weeks owed from the table.

If the person was on temporary layoff when the job ended, use the 8 weeks immediately before the layoff began, and count the layoff period in their length of employment.

When nothing is owed

• the employee quits or retires
• the employee is fired for just cause
• they haven't worked 3 consecutive months
• they work on call, doing temporary assignments they can accept or reject
• an unforeseeable event makes the work impossible, but not bankruptcy, receivership or insolvency
• they work on construction sites for a construction employer
• they refuse reasonable alternative work
• they're hired for a definite term or task of 12 months or less, unless it runs 3 months past its planned end

Just cause has a high bar

Theft, fraud, dishonesty, assault or harassment can be just cause. Poor performance or minor misconduct, such as lateness, usually isn't. To rely on poor performance, BC says the employer must show the standards were clear, the employee was told they weren't meeting them, had reasonable time and help, was warned they'd be fired and still didn't improve. Without that paper trail, compensation is owed.

Notice can't start while someone's away

This is the detail employers trip over. Written notice can't begin while the employee is on vacation, on leave, on temporary layoff, on strike or lockout, or off work for medical reasons. If you need the job to end during that time, you pay the compensation instead. And once notice is given, you can't cut their hours or pay without their written agreement. If they keep working past the notice date, the notice is cancelled and you start again.

When the employee resigns first

If someone with at least 3 months' service gives notice and you'd rather they left early, you can end the job sooner, but you owe the lesser of their wages for the rest of their notice period or the compensation you'd have owed them.

Deadlines and complaints

When the employer ends the job, all wages owing, including compensation for length of service, are due within 48 hours. A complaint about a job that has ended must be made in writing within 6 months of the last day of work.

Layoffs and group terminations

A temporary layoff is when an employee earns less than 50% of their regular weekly wages with a plan to bring them back. If they won't return, it's a termination. Ending the jobs of 50 or more people at one location within 2 months triggers written group notice to each affected employee, any union and the minister, stating how many people are affected, the dates and the reasons.

Employees affected	Group notice required before the first termination
50 to 100	At least 8 weeks
101 to 300	At least 12 weeks
301 or more	At least 16 weeks

If group notice isn't given, the employer owes termination pay instead, and that's on top of each person's individual compensation for length of service under section 63.

When a layoff turns into a termination

Section 62 defines a week of layoff as one where the employee earns less than 50% of their weekly wages at the regular rate, averaged over the previous 8 weeks. Cutting someone's hours that far without a plan to bring them back counts as ending the job, and compensation for length of service follows.

Other payments don't cancel it

Section 68 adds two protections people rarely hear about. A payment under the termination rules doesn't discharge any other payment the employee is owed under the Act, such as vacation pay or wages. And group termination pay is owed whether or not the employee has found another job in the meantime.

My verdict

Work out the 8-week average before you have the conversation, put the notice in writing and pay within 48 hours. If you're relying on just cause, check you can show every step BC lists, because that's where most disputes are lost. If you also employ in Ontario, compare Ontario severance pay, and see the full Ontario Employment Standards Act for how the two provinces differ.

Frequently asked questions

Is severance pay mandatory in BC?

Compensation for length of service is required after 3 consecutive months of employment unless an exception applies, such as a quit, retirement or dismissal for just cause.

What is the maximum severance under the BC Employment Standards Act?

8 weeks of wages or written notice, reached after 8 years of employment.

Is overtime included in severance pay in BC?

No. Use the last 8 weeks of wages including salary, commission, statutory holiday pay and paid vacation, but leave out overtime.

Can notice of termination be given while I'm on vacation in BC?

No. Notice has no effect if it overlaps vacation, leave, temporary layoff, a strike or lockout, or time off for medical reasons. The employer can pay compensation instead.

Is there severance if an employee quits in BC?

No. If an employee quits, they aren't paid compensation for length of employment.