Termination without cause

Termination without cause means ending employment for a reason other than serious misconduct. You must give notice or pay in lieu.

Also called: dismissal without cause, letting someone go, not-for-cause termination

What termination without cause means

Termination without cause is when you end someone's employment for a business or fit reason, not because of serious misconduct. The work dried up, the role changed, the person was not a good match, or you simply decided to go a different way. In Canada, a non-union employer can usually do this, as long as the reason is not discriminatory or a reprisal and you give what the law requires.

What the law requires is notice. That means written notice of the last day, pay in lieu of notice, or a mix of both. Employment standards laws set the minimum. The common law can require more for employees who have no valid written contract limiting notice. In a small business, most terminations are without cause, and paying properly is usually simpler than arguing cause you cannot prove.

How it works

Start with length of service. Every province sets a point before which no statutory notice is owed, then a scale that grows with service. The minimums are floors; a contract can give more, never less.

Then check for extras. Federally regulated employers may also owe severance pay after 12 months. In Ontario, employees with 5 or more years may be owed severance pay on top of notice if your payroll or the size of the layoff meets the thresholds. Group terminations have their own notice rules.

Next, final pay. Wages, vacation pay and any pay in lieu have deadlines that vary by province. You also issue a Record of Employment, usually with code M (dismissal) or A (shortage of work).

Common mistakes: a reason that is actually discriminatory, cutting off benefits too early, missing the final pay deadline, and assuming the statutory minimum is all you owe when the contract does not clearly limit notice. For a long-service employee, get advice first.

Termination without cause by province

The point after which notice is owed, and the deadline for final pay, differ across Canada. See termination notice for the full scale by years of service.

Where the work is done	The rule
Federal	Notice owed after 3 months. Amounts owed within 30 days; vacation pay within 30 days of the last day worked. Severance pay may also be owed after 12 months.
British Columbia	Notice owed after 3 months. Final pay is due 48 hours after dismissal.
Alberta	Notice owed after 90 days. Final pay is due within 10 days after the pay period ends, or 31 days after the last day worked.
Saskatchewan	Notice owed after 13 weeks. Final pay is due within 14 days of the last day.
Manitoba	Notice owed after 30 days. Final pay is due within 10 business days of the last day worked.
Ontario	Notice owed after 3 months. Final pay is due by the later of 7 days after employment ends or the next regular pay day. Severance pay may also apply after 5 years.
Quebec	Notice owed after 3 months. Wages are due on the regular pay day; other amounts within 2 weeks.
New Brunswick	Notice owed after 6 months. Wages on the next regular pay day; vacation pay and other amounts within 21 days of the last day.
Nova Scotia	Notice owed after 3 months. Final pay within 5 working days after the end of the pay period; vacation pay within 10 days.
Prince Edward Island	Notice owed after 90 days. Final pay, including vacation pay, by the last day of the next pay period after employment ends.
Newfoundland and Labrador	Notice owed after 3 months. Final pay within 1 week of termination.
Yukon	Notice owed after 6 months. Final pay 7 days after employment ends.
Northwest Territories	Notice owed after 90 days. Final pay within 10 days after employment ends.
Nunavut	Notice owed after 90 days. Final pay within 10 days after employment ends.

Yukon's official pages do not state when termination pay itself is due.

Example: Closing a second location in Saskatoon

Ahmed runs two small hardware stores in Saskatoon with 14 staff. He closes the smaller one and cannot place one employee, Rosa, who has worked for him for 2 years and 4 months. That is over 1 year and up to 3 years, so Saskatchewan's minimum is 2 weeks' notice.

Ahmed gives Rosa 2 weeks' working notice, pays her final wages and vacation pay within 14 days of her last day, and issues her Record of Employment with code A. Her contract does not limit notice to the minimum, so he also asks a lawyer whether more is owed.

Hollis handles the exit checklist

When someone leaves, Hollis gives you the checklist for your province: final pay timing, vacation pay owed and the Record of Employment deadline.

Try Hollis live

Free tools and guides for this

Questions about termination without cause

Can I fire an employee without a reason in Canada?

A non-union employer can usually end employment without cause, as long as the real reason is not discriminatory or a reprisal and you give the notice or pay in lieu the law requires.

How much notice do I owe for termination without cause?

At least your province's statutory minimum for the employee's length of service. Common-law reasonable notice can be higher if the contract does not validly limit it.

Official sources

General information for Canadian employers, not legal advice. Rules differ by province and territory and change over time, so check with your provincial employment standards office (or the federal Labour Program if you are federally regulated) before you rely on it. See employment standards by province.

Checked against official sources on 4 November 2026.