If you’ve just been let go, the severance number in your employer’s letter can feel final. It isn’t. In Ontario, most employees are entitled to significantly more than the statutory minimums — and understanding the difference can be worth months of additional pay.

Two very different numbers

There are actually two separate entitlements at play, and employers often only offer the smaller one.

Employment Standards Act (ESA) minimums. This is a legislated floor — a formula based on your length of service, capped at eight weeks’ notice and, for larger employers, up to 26 weeks of statutory severance pay. It’s the minimum an employer must pay, not a fair estimate of what you’re owed.

Common law “reasonable notice.” Unless your employment contract validly limits you to the ESA minimums, courts have consistently awarded far more — often calculated in months per year of service, not weeks. This is based on your age, position, length of service, and how easily you could find comparable employment.

What courts actually look at

When a court determines reasonable notice, it typically weighs:

  • Length of service — longer tenure generally means a longer notice period
  • Age — older employees are often awarded more, since re-employment is statistically harder
  • Position and compensation — specialized or senior roles can extend the notice period
  • Availability of similar employment — how easily you could reasonably find a comparable role

There’s no fixed formula. Every case is assessed on its specific facts, which is exactly why a one-size-fits-all offer from HR rarely reflects what you’re actually entitled to.

The clause that changes everything

If your employment contract contains a valid, enforceable termination clause, it can lawfully limit you to the ESA minimums — no more. But many termination clauses are poorly drafted and don’t hold up under scrutiny. An unenforceable clause defaults you back to full common law notice.

This is often the single biggest factor in a severance review, and it’s not something you can assess by reading the clause yourself — it requires a proper legal review.

Before you sign anything

Severance offers usually come with a release to sign and a deadline attached. That deadline is rarely as firm as it looks, and signing forfeits your right to pursue anything further — even if the offer was well below what you were owed.

A short conversation before you sign is the only way to know where you actually stand.