Nova Scotia Severance Pay Calculator
1 week after 3 months, stepping up to 8 weeks at 10+ years of service.
Labour Standards Code, s. 72
Employee details
Labour Standards Code, s. 72
Weekly equivalent: $1,250.00 (annual ÷ 52)
Service
3.0 years
36 complete months · $1,250.00/week
Pay in Lieu of Notice
$2,500.00
2 weeks minimum
Statutory Minimum Total
$2,500.00
Per Labour Standards Code, s. 72
How termination pay works in Nova Scotia
Under Labour Standards Code, s. 72, an employee in Nova Scotia who is terminated without cause is entitled to a statutory minimum amount of notice — or pay equivalent to that notice period if the employer chooses not to have the employee work it out.
The schedule below shows the statutory minimum in weeks at several common tenure points. To convert to dollars, multiply the weeks figure by the employee's regular weekly wage (use the calculator above for a live calculation).
| Length of service | Statutory notice |
|---|---|
| 3 months | 1 week |
| 6 months | 1 week |
| 1 year | 1 week |
| 2 years | 2 weeks |
| 3 years | 2 weeks |
| 5 years | 4 weeks |
| 7 years | 4 weeks |
| 10 years | 8 weeks |
| 15 years | 8 weeks |
| 20 years | 8 weeks |
Special rules & edge cases
- •Nova Scotia has no statutory severance. s.72 of the Labour Standards Code provides notice only.
- •The jump from 4 weeks at 9-year tenure to 8 weeks at 10-year tenure is significant — timing a termination around the anniversary can materially change the entitlement.
Common-law reasonable notice
The figures above are the statutory floor. Common-law reasonable notice under the Bardal factors — age, length of service, character of employment, and availability of similar employment — is usually longer. A 15-year senior manager in Nova Scotia may be entitled to 18–24 months of reasonable notice where the statutory cap is 8 weeks. Unless the employment contract contains a clear and lawful termination clause limiting the entitlement to the statutory minimum, the employee keeps their common-law rights. Always consult employment counsel before finalizing a package.
Severance rules in other provinces
Ontario
1 week per year of service, max 8 weeks notice. Severance (separate) applies at large employers for 5+ year employees.
British Columbia
1 week after 3 months, 2 weeks after 1 year, 3 weeks at 3 years + 1 per additional year, max 8 weeks.
Alberta
1 week after 3 months, stepping up to 8 weeks at 10+ years of service.
Saskatchewan
1 week after 13 weeks of service, stepping up to 8 weeks at 10+ years.
Manitoba
1 week after 30 days, stepping up to 8 weeks at 10+ years of service.
New Brunswick
2 weeks after 6 months, 4 weeks after 5 years of service.
Run Nova Scotia offboarding end-to-end.
Hibiscus HR turns this calculation into an audited offboarding workflow — ROE filing on Service Canada V2.0, termination letter, final pay, equipment checklist, and the audit trail to prove every step happened.