Canada Labour Code: up to 8 weeks’ notice or pay in lieu, plus 2 days’ wages a year
Estimates only, not financial advice. What you type stays on your device. Checked against sources on 16 Oct 2026.A federally regulated employer in Canada that ends a job must give 2 to 8 weeks of notice or pay in lieu, and after 12 months severance of the greater of 2 days' wages per completed year and 5 days' wages. On $65,000 a year after 6 years that is $7,500 plus $3,000.
2026 · Rates and rules read from the sources listed on this page (the earliest on 16 Oct 2026); they may have changed since.
Type your regular pay and choose whether it is a year, a month, two weeks or a week.
Type the days you regularly work a week and your completed years and months with the employer.
Read the weeks of notice, the pay in lieu of notice and the severance pay.
Open the Working tab for a week’s and a day’s wages and the rule behind each figure.
The Canada Labour Code covers employees of federal works, undertakings and businesses, which section 2 lists as including shipping, interprovincial railways, air transport, radio broadcasting and banks. This calculator works out the two payments the Code requires when such an employer ends a job, following sections 229.1, 230 and 235 on the Justice Laws Website, current to 21 September 2026.
Notice or pay in lieu. Section 230 requires written notice, wages in lieu of notice at the regular rate for regular hours, or a mix that adds up to the same weeks. The minimum is two weeks after three consecutive months of continuous employment, three weeks after three years, four after four, and so on up to eight weeks after eight years.
Severance pay. Section 235 adds severance once an employee has twelve consecutive months of continuous employment: the greater of two days' wages for each completed year and five days' wages. Two years of service still pays five days; six years pays twelve days.
A day's and a week's wages. Type your regular pay and the days you regularly work a week. A week's wages is the yearly pay divided by 52, and a day's wages is a week's wages divided by your regular days. $65,000 a year over five days is $1,250 a week and $250 a day.
Just cause. Neither payment applies to a dismissal for just cause (sections 229.1 and 235). The calculator has a switch for it.
Example. Six years on $65,000 a year: six weeks in lieu of notice is $7,500, and twelve days of severance is $3,000, $10,500 in total.
Not included. Group terminations, unjust dismissal complaints, vacation pay owed on leaving (see the federal vacation pay calculator), collective agreements and tax. An estimate, not legal advice.
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Section 235 requires severance pay once an employee has 12 consecutive months of continuous employment: the greater of 2 days' wages for each completed year of employment and 5 days' wages, at the regular rate for regular hours. Six years of service gives 12 days.
Section 230 sets the minimum at 2 weeks after 3 consecutive months of continuous employment, 3 weeks after 3 years, 4 after 4 years, and one more week each year up to 8 weeks after 8 years. The employer can pay wages in lieu instead of giving notice.
Pay in lieu of notice and severance pay are separate under the Canada Labour Code. Pay in lieu replaces the weeks of notice the employer did not give; severance pay is added on top once the employee has 12 months of service. Most dismissed federal employees with a year's service get both.
Neither notice nor severance pay under the Canada Labour Code applies to a dismissal for just cause. Section 229.1 excludes it from the notice rules and section 235 excludes it from severance pay. Vacation pay already earned is still owed, under the separate vacation rules.
Severance and pay in lieu use the regular rate of wages for regular hours of work, without overtime. The calculator divides yearly pay by 52 for a week's wages, then by the regular days worked a week: $65,000 a year over five days is $250 a day.
Employees of federal works, undertakings and businesses, which section 2 of the Code lists as including shipping, interprovincial railways, air transport, radio broadcasting and banks. Employees of most other businesses follow the employment standards law of their province or territory, which sets different notice and severance rules.
Rates and rules change; check the source before you rely on a figure.
Still stuck? Ask about Canada Federal Severance Pay Calculator and anybody who knows can answer. No account needed.
Same job, other tools: Canada Labour Code Vacation Pay Calculator – Canada Labour Code vacation pay: 8% and 4 weeks after 10 years with one employer · EI Calculator: How Much EI Will I Get? – Your weekly Employment Insurance and the number of weeks, from your hours and region · Calcul assurance-emploi 2026 (Canada) – Estimez vos prestations régulières d’assurance-emploi : 55 % du salaire, 729 $ au plus · Alberta Income Tax Calculator – Alberta take-home pay for 2026 with the 8% bracket and the $22,769 personal amount · BC Income Tax Calculator – British Columbia take-home pay for 2026 at the new 5.6% lowest rate, with CPP and EI.
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