Legal & Regulatory · Employment
Two severance offers, one comparable number.
Employers often present a package as a mix of lump sum, salary continuance, benefits and extras. This calculator converts each into dollars and weeks of pay, then sets them against the statutory minimum and the notice period you think is reasonable.
The statutory minimum is only a floor. Ontario’s guide calls the ESA rules “minimum requirements”, and some employees have common-law rights that exceed them.
Inputs
Offers compared
Enter your pay and at least one offer, then press Calculate.
How the value is counted
Each offer’s total is the lump sum, plus salary-continuance weeks times your weekly pay, plus months of continued benefits times your monthly benefit value, plus any other value you enter. It is a gross figure: tax and the timing of payment are not applied. A lump sum is paid at once and taxed as a retiring allowance (see the withholding calculator); continuance is paid over time and is usually treated as ordinary pay.
Before you sign
A severance agreement normally asks for a release of future claims. Ontario’s guide warns that you cannot sue for wrongful dismissal and also claim termination or severance pay from the ministry for the same termination, so understand which rights you are giving up. Ask for time to take legal advice, and ask whether the offer matches the notice, bonus and benefit entitlements in your contract.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my severance offer is fair?
Convert it to a total dollar value, then compare it with the statutory minimum and with a range of reasonable notice built from comparable cases (the Bardal factors). This tool does the first two steps; the Bardal calculator helps with the third.
Does the offer have to meet the statutory minimum?
In Ontario the ESA termination and severance rules are described as minimum requirements. Check your own province in the notice-of-termination tool and make sure an offer is at least that much before comparing it with common-law notice.
Are benefits worth counting?
Yes. Continued benefits, pension contributions and bonus entitlement during the notice period are part of what a court looks at. Matthews v. Ocean Nutrition (2020 SCC 26) addressed a lost incentive payment in notice damages.
Why is the number before tax?
Tax depends on the form of payment and your other income. Use the withholding calculator for the lump-sum part.
Sources
Verified 16 October 2026. Every rate, rule and case cited here was read on the official page or court decision listed below.
Not legal or tax advice
A higher total is not automatically a better deal; release terms, timing and tax matter. Employment law differs by province and by contract, and outcomes depend on evidence. If a lot of money or a signed release is involved, speak to an employment lawyer (many offer short free consultations) before you sign or send anything.