Severance in Ontario for 10 years of service: 8 weeks
An employee with 10 years of service in Ontario terminated without cause is entitled to 8 weeks of statutory notice under Employment Standards Act.
What 8 weeks of severance looks like in dollars
Multiply the employee's regular weekly wage by 8 to get the pay in lieu of notice. Below, the calculation at common Canadian salary points for 10 years of service in Ontario.
| Annual salary | Weekly wage | × 8 weeks | Statutory pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| $45,000 | $865 | × 8 | $6,923 |
| $60,000 | $1,154 | × 8 | $9,231 |
| $80,000 | $1,538 | × 8 | $12,308 |
| $100,000 | $1,923 | × 8 | $15,385 |
| $130,000 | $2,500 | × 8 | $20,000 |
How the rule works
1 week per year of service, max 8 weeks notice. Severance (separate) applies at large employers for 5+ year employees.An employee terminated without cause is entitled to either the notice itself, worked out over the notice period, or pay in lieu of notice at the employee's regular wage rate.
The specific calculation for 10 years of service in Ontario draws from Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 57 (notice), s. 64 (severance). The result: 8 weeks of the employee's regular wages.
+ Ontario statutory severance (ESA s.64)
Because Ontario has statutory severance and the employee has 5+ years of service, an additional severance entitlement may apply. Severance is owed when the employer has an Ontario payroll of $2.5M or more, or has terminated 50+ employees within a six-month window. The formula is 1 week per year of service, capped at 26 weeks. Severance stacks on top of the 8 weeks of notice, meaning a qualifying employee at 10 years of service could receive 8 + up to 10 = 18 weeks total.
This is the statutory floor, not the answer
Common-law reasonable notice under the Bardal factors (age, length of service, character of employment, availability of similar work) is usually longer than the statutory minimum. For an employee with 10 years of service, common-law notice in a comparable dismissal case can range from 10 to 20 months, versus 8 weeks at the statutory floor. Unless the employment contract contains a clear and enforceable termination clause limiting the entitlement to the ESA minimum, the employee retains the common-law right. Always consult employment counsel before finalizing a termination package.
Other tenure scenarios for Ontario
Same tenure in other provinces
Run Ontario offboarding end-to-end.
Hibiscus HR turns this calculation into an audited offboarding workflow: ROE filing on Service Canada, termination letter, final pay, equipment checklist, and the audit trail to prove every step happened.