BC Severance & Termination Pay: Weeks Owed Under the ESA

How many weeks of BC termination pay are owed?

BC’s Employment Standards Act (ESA) sets a minimum called compensation for length of service. After 3 consecutive months, it is 1 week. After 12 consecutive months, it is 2 weeks. After 3 consecutive years, it is 3 weeks plus 1 week for each additional completed year, up to 8 weeks. The employer can provide written working notice, pay in lieu, or both.

Use the table for an employee covered by the BC ESA. Check exceptions before applying it. This is the individual s.63 entitlement. Group termination can add further notice or pay. A contract or common-law claim may provide more.

If your job was in Ontario, use the Ontario statutory notice table instead. Similar week limits do not make the two provinces’ rules interchangeable.

How to calculate pay in lieu of notice

Under s.63(4), total the regular wages for the last 8 weeks in which you worked normal or average hours. Divide by 8, then multiply by the compensation weeks owed. Do not simply use the last 8 calendar weeks if some were not normal or average working weeks. Overtime is excluded from this regular-wage calculation. Vacation pay is payable on the compensation.

Hypothetical example: those 8 qualifying weeks total C$8,000. The average is C$1,000 a week. After 5 consecutive years, with no notice and no exception, s.63 compensation is 5 × C$1,000 = C$5,000 before tax. Applicable vacation pay and unpaid earned wages must be checked separately.

After calculating the amount, check BC ending-employment and final-pay rules for the payment deadline. The amount and due date need separate checks.

Written working notice, pay, or a combination

An employer can give the required written notice and keep you working, end employment and pay instead, or combine the two. If 5 weeks are owed and 2 valid weeks of working notice are given, the remaining compensation is 3 weeks. Ordinary wages earned during working notice are not an extra compensation payment.

Notice must meet s.67. It cannot run during annual vacation, leave, temporary layoff or certain other periods when you are unavailable for work. Wage rates and other employment conditions cannot be changed during notice without written consent. Continuing to employ you after the stated notice period makes that notice ineffective.

Exceptions: just cause, resignation and s.65

Section 63 does not require compensation before 3 consecutive months. Its liability is discharged if the employee quits, retires or is dismissed for just cause. The employer must prove just cause. Ordinary poor performance is not automatically enough.

Section 65 includes exceptions for certain on-call assignments that can be accepted or refused, definite terms, specific work to be completed within 12 months, qualifying construction-site work, refusal of reasonable alternative employment, and genuinely unforeseeable events making the contract impossible. Insolvency alone does not meet that last exception. Continuing for at least 3 months beyond a definite term or completed specific work removes that exception. Other teacher, seasonal and group-termination exceptions require separate checks.

Group termination: 50 or more employees at one location

Section 64 applies when 50 or more employees at a single location are to be terminated within any 2-month period, subject to exceptions. Written group notice must go to each affected employee, any representing union and the minister. It must state the number affected, termination dates and reasons.

The table gives the notice required before the first termination. Missing group notice must be replaced with termination pay, or a combination of notice and pay. This is additional to any individual s.63 entitlement or the applicable collective-agreement entitlement. Check the statutory exceptions and what counts as a single location.

Temporary layoff: the 13 weeks in 20 rule

Under the ordinary s.1 definition, a temporary layoff can last up to 13 weeks in any 20 consecutive weeks. A week counts as layoff when earnings fall below 50% of regular weekly wages under s.62. A longer layoff becomes termination, deemed under s.63(5) to have started on the first day of layoff. Collective-agreement recall rights and an approved variance can change the limit.

The ESA does not give every employer a right to impose a layoff. It must be agreed, allowed by the employment contract, or normal and expected in the industry. An unauthorised layoff may already amount to termination. Do not assume every layoff is lawful until week 14.

Can common-law severance be higher?

People often call both statutory compensation and a negotiated dismissal package “severance”. BC does not use Ontario’s separate ESA severance-pay formula. The s.63 table only sets the individual statutory minimum.

A non-union employee may have a common-law right to reasonable notice that exceeds 8 weeks. The contract and the circumstances affect that assessment. Section 118 preserves civil proceedings. Before signing a release, get advice about the offer, any termination clause and which rights would be settled. Do not add a separate common-law figure to an ESA figure without checking how they overlap.

Ask for an itemised calculation

Keep your start date, termination date, written notice, pay statements for the qualifying weeks and the proposed package. Ask: “Please show my consecutive service, s.63 weeks, valid notice credited, weekly wage base, vacation pay and any s.64 group entitlement. Please identify any exception relied on.”

Keep earned wages and vacation balances separate from compensation. For a disputed statutory amount, contact BC Employment Standards. Check provincial coverage first. For a larger contract or common-law claim, seek individual advice before agreeing to a release.

Keep the compensation calculation for your ROE and EI application. Report payments under Service Canada’s instructions and apply without waiting for a missing ROE.

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Frequently asked questions

Is severance pay mandatory in BC?

A covered employee generally qualifies for s.63 notice or compensation after 3 consecutive months. Valid working notice can satisfy the obligation. Exceptions apply. BC calls this compensation for length of service; it is not Ontario’s separate statutory severance entitlement.

How much termination pay is owed after 5 years in BC?

Section 63 provides 5 weeks after 5 consecutive years, unless an exception applies. With no valid notice and an applicable average weekly wage of C$1,000, that is C$5,000 before tax, plus applicable vacation pay. Other rights may add to this.

Does a layoff over 13 weeks count as termination?

For the ordinary rule without collective-agreement recall rights or an approved variance, more than 13 layoff weeks in 20 consecutive weeks becomes termination. Section 63(5) treats the termination as starting when the layoff began.

Can common-law reasonable notice exceed 8 weeks?

Yes. Eight weeks is the s.63 ceiling, not a cap on every dismissal claim. A non-union employee’s contract and circumstances may support a longer reasonable-notice claim. Obtain individual legal advice before signing a release.

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