How Much Severance Pay Is an Employee Entitled to in Alberta?
Work through your entitlement in order
Alberta’s Employment Standards Code does not have a scheme called “severance pay.” What it has is a minimum termination notice (or pay instead of notice) tied to how long the employee has worked there. Anything beyond that statutory floor is a matter of common law, decided case by case, not set out in the Code. Here is the order to work through it:
- Confirm whether just cause is actually in play. If the employer has just cause for dismissal, no termination notice or termination pay is required under the Code at all.
- Calculate length of continuous service. The statutory minimum notice period is set entirely by how long the employee has worked for the employer, counted in days and years.
- Match that length of service to the statutory minimum notice table. This gives the floor: the least the employer can provide without breaching the Code.
- Check whether the employer is giving working notice or pay in lieu. Both satisfy the Code; the employer can choose to pay out the notice period instead of having the employee work it.
- Check whether a layoff has quietly become a termination. An employee on temporary layoff who passes the maximum permitted duration is deemed terminated, which triggers the same notice or pay obligations.
- Ask whether common law severance beyond the statutory minimum might apply. This is a separate legal question from the Code’s minimums and is not set by government schedule.
Step 1 to 3: the statutory minimum, by length of service
The Code’s minimum notice periods (or pay instead of notice) increase in steps as service length grows. This is the floor for any non-union employee dismissed without cause in Alberta; an employer cannot legally provide less.
| Length of service | Minimum notice (or pay in lieu) |
|---|---|
| 90 days or less | No requirement |
| 91 days to under 2 years | 1 week |
| 2 years to under 4 years | 2 weeks |
| 4 years to under 6 years | 4 weeks |
| 6 years to under 8 years | 5 weeks |
| 8 years to under 10 years | 6 weeks |
| 10 years or more | 8 weeks |
Note what this table is not: it is not a “severance pay” formula in the way some other jurisdictions use that term. It is the Code’s minimum notice period, full stop. The number of weeks caps at 8, regardless of how long the employee has worked past the 10-year mark.
Step 4: notice vs. pay in lieu
An employer does not have to let the dismissed employee work out the notice period. If the employer wants the employee to leave right away, it can instead pay the employee what they would have earned had they worked through the full notice period. Either approach satisfies the Code; the choice belongs to the employer, not the employee.
Step 5: when a layoff becomes a deemed termination
Temporary layoffs are common in Alberta, but they are not indefinite. If a layoff runs longer than 90 days within a 120-day window, the employee is deemed to have been terminated as of that point, and the employer’s termination notice or pay obligations kick in as though the employee had been dismissed outright. An employee who has been on layoff for an extended stretch should check the dates carefully; the 90-in-120 threshold is what converts a layoff into a termination for Code purposes.
Step 6: severance beyond the statutory minimum
This is the step most often confused. The Code’s notice table above is a legislated floor, nothing more. Any severance pay beyond that floor, the kind negotiated in a package or awarded in a wrongful dismissal claim, is governed by common law in Alberta, not by the Employment Standards Code. There is no government schedule or formula for that additional amount; it depends on the specific circumstances of the dismissal and is generally worked out through negotiation or litigation rather than a statutory table. Because the Code itself is silent on this piece, an employee looking for more than the statutory minimum is stepping outside the Code entirely.
What this means before you sign anything
Because Alberta separates the statutory minimum (fixed by the Code, capped at 8 weeks) from any further severance (a common law question with no fixed formula), a termination letter or severance offer should be checked against both pieces separately: is the Code minimum satisfied on its own terms, and is anything being offered, or not offered, on top of it. The Code’s own guidance is explicit that the two are different things, decided under different rules.
Employment standards rules differ across Canada; this article covers Alberta only, and an employee working in another province should check that province’s own legislation rather than assume Alberta’s notice table applies.
Frequently asked questions
Does Alberta law actually use the term 'severance pay'?
No. Alberta's Employment Standards Code sets out minimum termination notice or pay in lieu based on length of service. Severance pay beyond that minimum is determined under common law, not the Code itself.
Can an employer in Alberta just pay me instead of giving working notice?
Yes. In Alberta, an employer can pay the employee what they would have earned during the notice period instead of having them work through it.
What happens if I'm on temporary layoff in Alberta for a long time?
In Alberta, a temporary layoff that exceeds 90 days within a 120-day period is deemed a termination, which triggers the employer's termination notice or pay obligations.
If my employer says I was fired for cause, do I still get termination pay in Alberta?
In Alberta, no termination notice or termination pay is required where the employer establishes just cause for the dismissal. Whether the conduct actually meets the just cause standard is a separate question from the amount owed.
Sources
- Alberta.ca – Employment standards – Termination and lay-off (retrieved July 17, 2026)
- Government of Alberta – Employment Standards general poster (Open Government) (retrieved July 17, 2026)
- Government of Alberta – Employment Standards Tool Kit for Employers, Module 9: Termination of Employment (Open Government) (retrieved July 17, 2026)