Alberta: the official figures for 2026
These are all the figures of jurisdictions.alberta in the data file: nine loose figures and six tables with 22 rows, each with the statute it comes from, when it took effect and how far it has been verified.
Updated · Figures verified against the statutes of each jurisdiction · see all figures and their sources · what's new
It is one of the 14 pages of the Jurisdictions block, inside official figures. The raw data is in legal-data-2026.json.
What this block holds
These Alberta minimums apply when a job ends. They set how much notice of termination your employer owes, how much notice you owe if you quit, when a temporary layoff turns into a termination, what share of your wages is vacation pay, which general holidays count, how fast the final pay must arrive and how long you have to complain. Alberta has no separate statutory severance pay, so the notice schedule carries most of the weight.
All of it comes from the Employment Standards Code, R.S.A. 2000, c. E-9: s. 56 for the employer's notice, s. 58 for yours, s. 63 for layoffs, s. 137 for group termination, s. 34 for vacation, s. 25 for the nine general holidays and s. 8 for the 31-day outside limit on final pay. Every Alberta row shows a dash in the Validity column, so no start date is recorded. Each row was reviewed on September 5, 2026.
These numbers change only when the Legislature amends the Code. What does shift is the calendar: Alberta Family Day, Good Friday and Thanksgiving Day fall on different dates each year.
How to read the table
In the loose figures, Figure holds a plain-language note and the internal key, Value is the number, Source is the section, Validity is the start date when one exists and Status records the check. A Verified row was read in the Code. A Secondary source row was calculated from official figures with the working shown. A Not yet verified row isn't confirmed, and the rest of the site won't treat it as firm. Today every Alberta row is Verified.
The row tables are lookups. In the employer's notice schedule, six years of service falls in the band from 6 to 8 years, which gives 5 weeks. That's the statutory floor for that band, and you only reach the first band once you pass 90 days of service. Your contract, a collective agreement and how the job ended decide the rest. The table gives parameters, not your answer.
Where the site uses these figures
The Alberta guide to notice and termination pay quotes these rows, and the termination pay calculator applies the notice schedule to your dates. The 31-day limit feeds final pay deadlines by province, the 4% and 6% bands feed vacation pay when your job ends, and the 90-in-120-day rule is set out in the temporary layoff rules. For benefits after the job ends, see EI in Alberta.
Status: Verified = read in the primary source; Secondary source = worked out by us from official figures, arithmetic shown; Not yet verified = not confirmed in the primary source, and so not published as a firm figure on any other page. The detail is in rule three of the methodology.
Alberta jurisdictions.alberta
| Figure | Value | Source | Validity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta counts 90 days, not three months. Separate spells of work for the same employer count as one period if not more than 90 days passed between them (s. 54). How we read it: The Code owes no notice to an employee who has been employed "for 90 days or less" and does not say how to count the days. We count every calendar day from your first day to your last day, both included, so a job that ran from April 2 to June 30 is 90 days and earns no notice, and one more day earns it. If your count lands within a day or two of 90, confirm with Alberta Employment Standards. alberta.notice.qualifying_service | more than 90 days | Employment Standards Code, s. 55 — Options for employer to terminate employment | — | Verified Reviewed 2026-10-20 |
Alberta · notice · employee notice · first band fromalberta.notice.employee_notice.first_band_from | more than 90 days | Employment Standards Code, s. 58 — Termination of employment by an employee | — | Verified Reviewed 2026-10-19 |
Alberta has no separate statutory severance pay.alberta.severance.exists | No | Employment Standards Code, R.S.A. 2000, c. E-9 | — | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
Alberta · group termination · thresholdalberta.group_termination.threshold | 50 employees | Employment Standards Code, s. 137 — Group termination | — | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
Alberta · group termination · windowalberta.group_termination.window | 4 weeks | Employment Standards Code, s. 137 — Group termination | — | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
Alberta calls them general holidays. Employers and employees can agree to add more, and the Lieutenant Governor in Council can name extra ones by regulation, but nine are named in the Code itself.alberta.holidays.count | 9 | Employment Standards Code, s. 25 — General holidays in Alberta | — | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
Outside limit, counted from your last day of work. The employer may pay sooner by using the other option, 10 days after the end of the pay period in which the job ended.alberta.final_pay.days_after_termination | 31 days | Employment Standards Code, s. 8 — Payment of wages, overtime pay and general holiday pay | — | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
Alberta uses the same deadline whether you were dismissed or you resigned.alberta.final_pay.days_after_quit | 31 days | Employment Standards Code, s. 8 — Payment of wages, overtime pay and general holiday pay | — | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
Counted from the date the employment ended. While you are still employed there is no deadline.alberta.complaint.deadline | 6 months | Employment Standards Code, s. 82 — Employee complaints | — | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
| Service from years | Service to years | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| 0.25 years | 2 years | 1 week |
| 2 years | 4 years | 2 weeks |
| 4 years | 6 years | 4 weeks |
| 6 years | 8 years | 5 weeks |
| 8 years | 10 years | 6 weeks |
| 10 years | — | 8 weeks |
Source: Employment Standards Code, s. 56 — Employer's termination notice. Reviewed on September 5, 2026.
| Service from years | Service to years | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| 0.25 years | 2 years | 1 week |
| 2 years | — | 2 weeks |
Source: Employment Standards Code, s. 58 — Termination of employment by an employee. Reviewed on September 5, 2026.
| Label | Max value | Max unit | Window value | Window unit | Condition | Source | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic limit | 90 | days | 120 | days | — | ab_esc_s63 | The employment of an employee who is laid off for one or more periods exceeding, in total, 90 days within a 120-day period terminates, and termination pay is payable |
| While payments or recall rights last | — | — | — | — | The 90 days do not end the job while your employer keeps paying you wages or money instead of wages by agreement, or keeps up pension or insurance payments for you, or while recall rights under a collective agreement are still alive. | ab_esc_s63 | unless (a) during the layoff the employer, by agreement with the employee, (i) pays the employee wages or an amount instead of wages |
Source: Employment Standards Code, s. 63 — Termination pay after temporary layoff. Reviewed on September 5, 2026.
| Employees from | Employees to | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | — | 4 weeks |
Source: Employment Standards Code, s. 137 — Group termination. Reviewed on September 5, 2026.
| Service from years | Service to years | Weeks | Pay percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 years | 5 years | 2 weeks | 4% |
| 5 years | — | 3 weeks | 6% |
Source: Employment Standards Code, s. 34 — Basic vacation entitlement. Reviewed on September 5, 2026.
| Name | Date rule |
|---|---|
| New Year's Day | January 1 |
| Alberta Family Day | Third Monday in February |
| Good Friday | Friday before Easter Sunday |
| Victoria Day | Monday before May 25 |
| Canada Day | July 1 |
| Labour Day | First Monday in September |
| Thanksgiving Day | Second Monday in October |
| Remembrance Day | November 11 |
| Christmas Day | December 25 |
Source: Employment Standards Code, s. 25 — General holidays in Alberta. Reviewed on September 5, 2026.