Ontario Severance Pay Calculator
Estimate the statutory minimum termination pay in Ontario from your length of service and weekly pay.
Below the minimum service of 3 months, there may be no statutory entitlement.
Ontario termination pay rules
Ontario's Employment Standards Act sets minimum termination pay of one week per year of service (up to 8 weeks) for employees with at least three months' service. Longer-service staff at larger employers may also be owed separate ESA severance pay.
- Termination pay: 1 week's pay per completed year, capped at 8 weeks (you qualify after 3 months).
- Separate ESA severance pay may also apply: 1 week per year up to 26 weeks, if you have 5+ years and the employer's payroll is $2.5M+ (or 50+ employees are let go).
- These are statutory minimums — common-law reasonable notice is often far higher.
This estimates ESA termination pay (the statutory floor). It does not include the separate ESA severance pay or common-law reasonable notice, which can add many more weeks — often around a month per year of service. Get advice before relying on a single number.
Termination pay by length of service
| Completed service | Weeks' pay |
|---|---|
| 3 months+ | 1 week |
| 1+ years | 2 weeks |
| 3+ years | 3 weeks |
| 4+ years | 4 weeks |
| 5+ years | 5 weeks |
| 6+ years | 6 weeks |
| 7+ years | 7 weeks |
| 8+ years | 8 weeks |
Frequently asked questions
It is based on length of service — broadly one week's pay per year, up to a maximum of 8 weeks. You generally qualify after 3 months of employment. The calculator multiplies the weeks owed by your weekly pay.
No. This is the statutory minimum set by employment standards. Non-unionized employees can often claim common-law reasonable notice instead, which is frequently much higher — sometimes around a month of pay per year of service. The statutory amount is a floor, not a ceiling.
Yes. Employers can usually provide the equivalent period of written working notice, pay in lieu, or a combination. Termination pay is what is owed when sufficient notice is not given.
The statutory termination entitlement is capped at 8 weeks' pay. Additional entitlements (such as Ontario's separate ESA severance pay or common-law notice) can exceed this.