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Before You Begin
Terms of Use — Please Read in Full

1. Permitted Use

This Termination & Severance Calculator (the "Tool") is provided exclusively as a professional reference resource for HR professionals, employers, employment lawyers, and employees seeking to understand approximate termination entitlements. Use of this Tool is permitted solely for informational and internal reference purposes.

2. Not Legal Advice

The Tool does not provide legal advice and is not a substitute for advice from a qualified employment lawyer or legal professional. No lawyer-client relationship is created by your use of this Tool. The calculations, estimates, and outputs generated are approximations only and do not constitute legal opinions.

3. Prohibited Uses

You expressly agree that you will not:

  • Use the output of this Tool in any legal proceeding, tribunal, arbitration, or court as evidence or legal authority
  • Rely on this Tool as the sole basis for any termination decision without independent legal review
  • Represent the Tool's outputs as legal advice to any third party
  • Use this Tool for any purpose that violates applicable law
  • Reproduce, distribute, or commercialise the Tool or its outputs without written permission

4. Accuracy Disclaimer

Employment standards legislation changes frequently. While the Tool is designed to reflect current legislation as of its last update, no representation or warranty is made that the information is current, complete, accurate, or applicable to your specific situation. Jurisdiction-specific rules are complex and individual circumstances vary significantly.

The common law reasonable notice estimates are generated by an algorithmic model based on the Bardal factors framework and published case law benchmarks. Actual court awards vary substantially and cannot be reliably predicted by any algorithm.

5. No Warranty

This Tool is provided "as is" and "as available" without any warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. The Tool operator does not warrant that the Tool will be error-free, uninterrupted, or free from defects.

6. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the Tool operator, its affiliates, and their respective officers, directors, employees, and agents shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising out of or in connection with your use of or reliance on this Tool, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

Your use of this Tool is entirely at your own risk. Any decisions made based on outputs of this Tool are solely your responsibility.

7. Jurisdiction-Specific Caveats

This Tool covers employment standards across Canadian provinces, territories, and selected US states. Employment law is highly jurisdiction-specific. The Tool cannot account for:

  • Municipal or city-level employment ordinances
  • Industry-specific collective agreements or regulations
  • Recent legislative amendments not yet reflected in the Tool
  • Case law developments after the Tool's last update
  • The specific facts and circumstances of individual employment relationships
  • Federal laws overlapping with provincial/state standards

8. Privacy

Information entered into this Tool is processed locally in your browser. The Tool operator does not collect, store, or transmit personally identifiable information entered during a calculation session.

9. Governing Law

These Terms of Use are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein, without regard to conflict of law principles.

10. Amendments

The Tool operator reserves the right to modify these Terms of Use at any time. Continued use of the Tool following any modification constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

Scroll to the bottom and check the acknowledgment box to continue. Last updated: 2025.

↓ Scroll to read all terms before agreeing
Calculating your results…
Applying jurisdiction-specific rules
Termination & Severance Calculator
Canada · United States · Employment Standards
Professional Edition
⚖️
Estimates only — not legal advice. Always consult qualified employment counsel before acting on these results. Calculations are approximations and may not reflect the most recent legislative changes.
Step 1 of 5

Select Jurisdiction

Choose the province or state where this employment relationship was primarily based. Calculations will apply the applicable employment standards legislation.

Canadian Provinces & Territories
United States — Major States
Step 2 of 5

Employment Details

Provide accurate employment information. All amounts should be in Canadian dollars (CAD) for Canadian jurisdictions or USD for US states.

Employee Information
Used in Bardal factor analysis for common law notice
Employment Dates & Service
Compensation
$
$
$
Average of last 3 years. Inclusion in notice pay is contested — flagged in results.
$
Health, dental, life insurance annual employer cost
Variable Compensation
$
$
Used for notice/severance calculations when variable comp is included in "regular wages"
Fixed-Term Contract Details
ℹ️
Fixed-term employees dismissed before the contract end date are generally entitled to wages for the remainder of the term (Costigan principle), unless there is a valid early termination clause. If this contract has been renewed multiple times, courts may treat the employment as indefinite — see Ceccol v. Ontario Gymnastics Federation (2001 ONCA).
The date the fixed term was scheduled to expire
How many times has this fixed-term contract been renewed?
Vacation Pay on Termination

Accrued unused vacation pay is always owed on termination regardless of whether termination is for cause or without cause. This is separate from notice entitlements.

Statutory minimum shown below. Enter actual entitlement if higher.
Days earned but not yet taken at time of termination
Role & Managerial Level

This affects Bardal factor scoring for common law reasonable notice.

Employment Agreement
Federal Jurisdiction Confirmation

The Canada Labour Code applies to federally regulated industries. Confirm the employer's business falls within one of the following categories:

If the employer's business does not fall within a federal category, provincial legislation applies instead — return to Step 1 and select the applicable province.
Step 3 of 5

Termination Details

Provide details about how the employment ended. These factors determine entitlements and influence the fairness assessment.

Reason for Termination
🔍 Constructive Dismissal — Details Required

Constructive dismissal requires a fundamental, unilateral change to a core term of employment. Provide details below to assess claim strength. If established, calculations treat this as termination without cause.

Courts generally view reductions of 10%+ as potentially constructive dismissal; 20%+ is usually sufficient
Claim Strength Assessment
Weak Provide details to assess Strong
⚖️
Key legal principles: Accepting the change (even temporarily) may waive the right to claim constructive dismissal. Delay in leaving after the change can be interpreted as acceptance. The employee still has a duty to mitigate by seeking new comparable employment even in constructive dismissal claims.
Mitigation — New Employment Since Termination

Courts can reduce common law notice awards by earnings the employee earned or should have earned in new employment during the notice period (duty to mitigate). Provide details if applicable.

No new employment: The employer may argue that the employee failed to take reasonable steps to mitigate their losses. Courts expect employees to make genuine efforts to find comparable employment. Refusal of a reasonable comparable offer constitutes a mitigation failure and can significantly reduce the common law award.
New Employment Details
$
ℹ️
Mitigation credit will be calculated as: new weekly salary × weeks worked during the common law notice period. This reduces the employer's net exposure — shown in the results breakdown.
Weeks of actual working notice provided before last day
Lump sum weeks equivalent offered
$
Any additional amount beyond statutory minimums
US-Specific Details
NYC, Chicago, LA, SF have significant additional employment ordinances
Enter 0 if final pay was provided on time. Used to calculate waiting time penalties (CA).
Needed for FMLA (50+), WARN Act, and other headcount-based federal thresholds
Special Circumstances
⚠️ Bad Faith — Aggravated Damages Assessment (Keays v. Honda Canada Inc., 2008 SCC)

Post-Keays: courts no longer extend the notice period for bad faith. Instead, separate moral/aggravated damages are awarded. Indicate which of the following apply — each factor increases the potential damages range.

Aggravated Damages Severity
Select applicable factors above

Conduct falling short of just cause can still reduce (but not eliminate) common law reasonable notice. Dowling v. Ontario (Workplace Safety), 2004 ONCA.

Typical reduction: 10–30% of common law award. Dishonesty typically highest reduction; minor performance lowest.

These factors may trigger human rights complaints independent of wrongful dismissal. Always assess before finalising any termination.

Used to determine WARN Act applicability for US jurisdictions and group termination provisions
Step 4 of 5 — Results

Severance Analysis

⚠️ US Employment Law — Important Limitations
US employment law varies significantly by state, city, and industry. This tool covers state-level rules only. Many cities have additional ordinances (NYC, Chicago, LA, SF, etc.) that may provide additional employee protections. Federal law — including the FLSA, FMLA, ADA, Title VII, ADEA, and NLRA — applies in all states and is not fully modelled here. Always consult qualified US employment counsel before making any termination decision.
🇺🇸 Federal Law Exposure Flags
Detailed Calculation Breakdown
Entitlement Basis Weeks Amount Status
⚖️ Common Law Reasonable Notice Analysis
⚠️ Aggravated / Moral Damages Exposure — Keays v. Honda Canada Inc. (2008 SCC)
Following Keays, courts no longer extend the notice period for bad faith conduct. Instead, separate moral/aggravated damages are awarded as a distinct head of damages. These are in addition to — not instead of — wrongful dismissal damages.
$10,000 – $25,000
⚖️ Estimate only. Courts have broad discretion in awarding aggravated damages. Amounts vary significantly based on specific conduct, evidence, and judicial assessment. This range is for planning purposes only — not a legal prediction.
Employee Fairness View

This section shows the gap between what was offered and what the employee may be entitled to at law. This is not legal advice — it is a comparative reference only.

Insights & Risk Flags
Full & Final Release — Template Generator
⚖️
Independent Legal Advice Strongly Recommended. Courts will scrutinise releases signed without independent legal advice (ILA). A release obtained without ILA, under duress, or without adequate time for review may be set aside. Always provide a reasonable review period (recommended: 7–14 days) and encourage the employee to obtain legal advice before signing.
Record of Employment (ROE) — Guidance
The ROE must be filed electronically with Service Canada within 5 calendar days of the first day of interruption of earnings (not the last day of work — typically the first day the employee does not receive insurable earnings). Filing an incorrect ROE code can affect the employee's EI eligibility and create liability for the employer.
⚠️ Important ROE notes: For cause terminations, use Code M (Dismissal) — do NOT use Code E (Quit) even if the employee eventually resigned as a result of constructive dismissal. Using an incorrect code to deny EI benefits can expose the employer to CRA/Service Canada audit. For constructive dismissal situations where the employee left, use Code K (Other) and include explanatory notes. Always consult your payroll provider when uncertain.
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Step 5 of 5 — Letter Generator

Termination Letter

Draft letters generated from your inputs. Yellow fields are editable — click to customise. Have reviewed by employment counsel before sending.

🚨

Do Not Send Without Legal Review

These are draft templates only. Termination letters sent without review by qualified employment counsel expose the employer to significant legal risk. Have all letters reviewed before sending. Complete all yellow fields with accurate, situation-specific information.

Important Disclaimer — This letter is a template only and does not constitute legal advice. Employment law is complex and jurisdiction-specific. Before sending any termination letter, have it reviewed by qualified employment counsel. Complete all yellow-highlighted fields with accurate, situation-specific information.
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