Termination notice · Federal (Canada Labour Code)
Federal (Canada Labour Code) notice of termination.
The statutory MINIMUM notice period (or pay in lieu) Federal (Canada Labour Code) law requires when an employer ends employment without cause — not severance pay, and not the longer "reasonable notice" a court can award.
Nothing is owed under Federal (Canada Labour Code) law before 3 consecutive months. After that, notice rises with length of service to a maximum of 8 weeks.
Inputs
Minimum notice owed
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Federal (Canada Labour Code)'s graduated notice scale
| Length of continuous service | Minimum notice |
|---|---|
| Under 3 months | None |
| 3 months to under 3 years | 2 weeks |
| 3 years or more | 1 week per completed year of service (max 8) |
Graduated scale introduced by 2019 Budget Implementation Act amendments: 2 weeks at 3 months, then 1 week of notice per completed year of employment (3 years = 3 weeks, 4 years = 4 weeks, and so on) to a maximum of 8 weeks at 8+ years. A separate statutory severance pay also applies federally after 12 months of service.
Exemptions
Dismissal for just cause; a qualifying temporary layoff; a fixed-term contract or specific-task employment ending on its stated date or completion.
Source, last verified 26 September 2026: Canada.ca — Termination of employment (federally regulated).
Frequently asked questions
Is this the same as severance pay?
No. Notice of termination and severance pay are two separate entitlements. Severance pay exists as a distinct statutory entitlement only federally and in Ontario (above a service and payroll-size threshold), and is calculated completely differently. This page covers notice PERIOD LENGTH only.
Can my employer pay me instead of giving working notice?
Yes. Federal (Canada Labour Code) law allows the employer to pay wages in lieu of some or all of the working notice period.
Does this apply if I was fired for cause?
No. These minimums apply when an employer ends employment WITHOUT cause. A genuine, provable case of just cause (serious misconduct, for example) removes the statutory notice entitlement entirely in every Canadian jurisdiction.
Could I be owed more than this?
Often, yes. This is only the LEGISLATED MINIMUM. A written employment contract can specify more (never less), and if you have no contract term covering notice, a court can award much longer "reasonable notice" under common law (or, in Quebec, civil law) — frequently several months per year of service for longer-tenured employees. That figure is fact-specific and is not something a statute publishes a table for; it is not modelled here.
Estimate only — not legal advice
This calculator produces an estimate of the statutory MINIMUM notice period only, from the published employment-standards legislation. It is not legal advice and it is not a determination of what you are owed. It does not model group/mass termination rules, temporary layoffs, fixed-term contracts, or common-law/civil-law reasonable notice, which can all change the answer.
For a binding answer, contact the employment-standards office named above or a lawyer.