Ontario: the official figures for 2026
These are all the figures of jurisdictions.ontario in the data file: 14 loose figures and five tables with 26 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
Ontario's page is the fullest because the Employment Standards Act, 2000 provides two separate payments when a job ends. The first is notice of termination, or termination pay in its place, under sections 54 and 57. The second is severance pay under sections 64 and 65, which exists only here and in the federal jurisdiction. The table also carries the temporary layoff limits of section 56, group termination under section 58 with its schedule in O. Reg. 288/01, s. 3, vacation under section 33, the nine public holidays, final pay under section 11 and the complaint window of section 96.
The two work differently. Notice is a lookup: three months of employment opens the ladder at one week, one year brings two, and from three years each year adds a week, up to eight. Severance pay has two gates. You need five years with the employer, counting all time in its employ, and the employer needs a payroll of at least $2,500,000.00, unless a permanent shutdown brought 50 or more severances within six months. Pass both and you get one week of regular wages per completed year, plus a twelfth of a week per leftover month, capped at 26 weeks.
Most rows are valid from September 4, 2001. None of these values is tied to the calendar year: the payroll threshold, the cap and the ladder are written into the statute and move only by amendment.
How to read the table
Five columns, one row per figure. Figure carries a label and often a note on how the rule works; Value is the number; Source gives the Act and section; Validity says from when; Status records the check. Look at the severance maximum: 26 weeks, s. 65, from 2001-09-04, Verified. Verified here means read in the Act itself. Secondary source would mark a figure the site calculated from published government data, with the working shown; Not yet verified would mark one still unconfirmed and therefore held back from the rest of the site. Every Ontario row was Verified on September 5, 2026.
The cap is a ceiling on the formula, not a promise. Whether you reach severance at all turns on your service, your employer's payroll and how the job ended, and the amount turns on your regular wages.
Where the site uses these figures
The Ontario guide to termination and severance pay and the calculator both draw on these rows, and termination pay versus severance pay explains why Ontario has both. The five-year gate is worked through in severance pay after five years. The layoff limits feed the temporary layoff rules, and what comes after the last paycheque is on the EI page for Ontario.
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.
Ontario jurisdictions.ontario
| Figure | Value | Source | Validity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Below three months of continuous employment the ESA gives no notice and no termination pay.ontario.notice.qualifying_service | 3 months | Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 54 — No termination without notice | From 2001-09-04 | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
Ontario is one of only two Canadian jurisdictions with a statutory severance pay separate from notice or pay in lieu of notice; the other is the federal jurisdiction.ontario.severance.exists | Yes | Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 64 — Entitlement to severance pay | From 2001-09-04 | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
All time in that employer's employ counts, continuous or not, active or not (s. 65(2)).ontario.severance.service_minimum | 5 years | Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 64 — Entitlement to severance pay | From 2001-09-04 | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
Payroll is measured either as total wages of all employees in the four weeks ending with the last completed pay period before the severance, multiplied by 13, or as total wages in the employer's last or second-last fiscal year (s. 64(2)).ontario.severance.payroll_threshold | $2,500,000.00 | Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 64 — Entitlement to severance pay | From 2001-09-04 | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
This is the alternative route into severance pay for employees of a smaller employer: 50 or more severances in a six-month period caused by a permanent shutdown of all or part of the business.ontario.severance.mass_threshold | 50 employees | Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 64 — Entitlement to severance pay | From 2001-09-04 | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
One week of regular wages per completed year, plus a twelfth of a week for each completed leftover month.ontario.severance.per_year | 1 week | Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 65 — Calculating severance pay | From 2001-09-04 | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
Ontario sets no floor on severance pay: the calculation starts at five years of employment and simply runs from there. The federal jurisdiction is the one with a floor, five days' wages.ontario.severance.minimum | None | Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 65 — Calculating severance pay | From 2001-09-04 | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
Ontario · severance · maximumontario.severance.maximum | 26 weeks | Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 65 — Calculating severance pay | From 2001-09-04 | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
Ontario · group termination · thresholdontario.group_termination.threshold | 50 employees | Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 58 — Notice, 50 or more employees | From 2001-09-04 | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
The 50 terminations must fall in the same four-week period at the same establishment.ontario.group_termination.window | 4 weeks | Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 58 — Notice, 50 or more employees | From 2001-09-04 | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
Ontario calls them public holidays. The list is closed in the definition in section 1, with room for more to be added by regulation.ontario.holidays.count | 9 | Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 1 — Definitions | — | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
Seven days is a floor, not the whole rule: if your next pay day is later, that later date governs.ontario.final_pay.days_after_termination | 7 days | Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 11 — Payment of wages | From 2001-09-04 | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
Ontario uses one deadline whether you quit or the employer ended the job: the later of seven days after the employment ends and your next pay day.ontario.final_pay.days_after_quit | 7 days | Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 11 — Payment of wages | From 2001-09-04 | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
Ontario · complaint · deadlineontario.complaint.deadline | 2 years | Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 96 — Complaints | From 2001-09-04 | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
| Service from years | Service to years | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| 0.25 years | 1 year | 1 week |
| 1 year | 3 years | 2 weeks |
| 3 years | 4 years | 3 weeks |
| 4 years | 5 years | 4 weeks |
| 5 years | 6 years | 5 weeks |
| 6 years | 7 years | 6 weeks |
| 7 years | 8 years | 7 weeks |
| 8 years | — | 8 weeks |
Source: Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 57 — Employer notice period. Reviewed on September 5, 2026.
| Label | Max value | Max unit | Window value | Window unit | Condition | Source | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic limit | 13 | weeks | 20 | weeks | — | on_esa_s56 | a lay-off of not more than 13 weeks in any period of 20 consecutive weeks |
| Extended limit | 35 | weeks | 52 | weeks | The lay-off has to stay under 35 weeks in any 52 consecutive weeks and your employer has to keep something going for you: substantial payments, contributions to a pension or group insurance plan, supplementary unemployment benefits, or a recall inside the time the Director approves or the time you agreed to. | on_esa_s56 | a lay-off of more than 13 weeks in any period of 20 consecutive weeks, if the lay-off is less than 35 weeks in any period of 52 consecutive weeks |
| Agreed extension | 52 | weeks | 78 | weeks | Only where you are not represented by a union: you and your employer agree in writing to an extended lay-off, the agreement names the latest date you will be recalled, the Director approves it, and the lay-off stays under 52 weeks in any 78 consecutive weeks. Once you agree you cannot take the agreement back. | on_esa_s66_1 | An employer and an employee may agree to a lay-off that is 35 or more weeks in any period of 52 consecutive weeks, but may not agree to a lay-off of 52 or more weeks in any period of 78 consecutive weeks. |
| Union recall period | — | — | — | — | Where you are represented by a union, a lay-off of 35 weeks or more in 52 consecutive weeks stays temporary for as long as the recall time in the collective agreement runs. The Act puts no ceiling on it. | on_esa_s56 | a lay-off of 35 or more weeks in any period of 52 consecutive weeks where the employer recalls the employee within the time set out in an agreement between the employer and the trade union |
Source: Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 56 — What constitutes termination; temporary lay-off. Reviewed on September 5, 2026.
| Employees from | Employees to | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 199 | 8 weeks |
| 200 | 499 | 12 weeks |
| 500 | — | 16 weeks |
Source: O. Reg. 288/01, s. 3 — Notice, 50 or more employees. 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 Act, 2000, s. 33 — Right to vacation. Reviewed on September 5, 2026.
| Name | Date rule |
|---|---|
| New Year's Day | January 1 |
| Family Day | The third Monday in February |
| Good Friday | The Friday before Easter Sunday |
| Victoria Day | The Monday before May 25 |
| Canada Day | July 1 |
| Labour Day | The first Monday in September |
| Thanksgiving Day | The second Monday in October |
| Christmas Day | December 25 |
| Boxing Day | December 26 |
Source: Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 1 — Definitions. Reviewed on September 5, 2026.