Employment Standards Act of British Columbia - Part VIII: Termination of Employment

Part VIII: Termination of Employment

The amount of notice or pay in lieu of notice than an employee is entitled to depends on their length of service with their employer.

• For service less than 3 months, no severance pay is required
• For service between 3 and 12 months, 1 week of severance is required
• For service between 12 months and 3 years, 2 weeks of severance are required
• For service of 3 years or more, the amount of severance is calculated on the basis of 1 week per year of service, to a maximum of 8 weeks.

Additional notice is required where a large number of employees are terminated at a single location within a 2 month period.

Exceptions:

• Casual employment
• Defined term employment
• Employment was for specific work to be completed within 12 months
• Employment has become impossible to perform due to unforeseeable event
• Employee employed by a construction employer at one or more construction sites
• Terminated employee refused reasonable alternative employment with employer

There are other sections of the Act that deal with Termination of Employment Variances; Complaints, Investigations and Determinations; Enforcement; Employment Standards Tribunal; Appeals; General Provisions; Transitional and Consequential Provisions.