Severance pay calculator Canada
Estimate statutory severance and notice scenarios while directing readers to employment standards.
Estimate statutory severance and notice scenarios while directing readers to employment standards.
Estimate statutory severance and notice scenarios while directing readers to employment standards.
See your severance pay range for 2026 — both the provincial ESA statutory minimum (what most employers offer) and the common-law Bardal range (what you'd likely win in a wrongful dismissal claim). Built on Ontario's Employment Standards Act and Supreme Court of Canada precedent.
$23,077
16 weeks total
| Notice | 8 wk |
| Severance (s.64) | 8 wk |
What most initial offers look like.
$27,404 – $44,712
19–31 weeks
What you'd likely win in a wrongful dismissal claim, based on length of service, age, position, and re-employability.
Gap to fight for: ~$21,635
Provincial Employment Standards Acts (ESAs) set a floor — usually 1 week per year of service for notice, plus an extra 1 week per year for severance if you have 5+ years and your employer has $2.5M+ in payroll. That ceiling caps at 8 weeks notice + 26 weeks severance in Ontario.
Common-law reasonable notice is what the courts apply in wrongful dismissal cases. The leading test is Bardal v. Globe & Mail (1960): length of service, age, character of employment, and availability of similar employment. The rough rule of thumb is 3–4 weeks per year of service, with bumps for management roles and employees over 55, capped around 24 months.
Most initial severance offers from employers are at or near the ESA minimum. An employment lawyer can usually negotiate the package up by 50–200% by invoking the common-law range. See our income tax calculator to estimate the after-tax value of any negotiated package.