Working notice is when your employer tells you that your employment will end on a future date but requires you to continue working until then. Working notice is legal in Alberta—but it must provide you with enough notice of termination.
Your employer can give you working notice, pay you instead of notice, or use a combination of both. What matters is whether the total notice or compensation satisfies your legal entitlement.
The Quick Answer: Alberta’s Employment Standards Code provides minimum notice of up to eight weeks based on length of service. That is not necessarily your full entitlement. Many non-unionized employees are owed substantially more under common law, and severance in Alberta can reach 24 months’ pay.
On This Page:
- 1. What Is Working Notice?
- 2. How Much Working Notice Are You Owed?
- 3. Your Rights During Working Notice
- 4. Working Notice and Severance Pay
- 5. What if the Notice Is Too Short?
- 6. Problems During Working Notice
- 7. Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Working Notice in Alberta?
Working notice is advance warning from your employer that your employment will end on a specific future date.
For example, if your employer tells you on March 1 that your last day will be June 30 and you continue working until June 30, those four months are working notice.
During that period:
- You remain an employee
- You continue performing your job
- Your employer continues paying you
- Your employment ends on the stated termination date
Working notice is one way an employer can meet its obligations when it terminates an employee without cause in Alberta.
Does your employer have to give working notice?
No. Your employer has three options:
- Working notice: You continue working until the termination date
- Termination pay: Your employment ends immediately and you are paid instead of working the notice period
- A combination: You work part of the notice period and receive pay for the remainder
Learn more about termination pay in Alberta.
How Much Working Notice Are You Owed in Alberta?
There are two levels of notice Alberta employees need to understand: the minimum notice required by employment standards legislation and the potentially much greater notice available under common law.
Minimum working notice under Alberta employment standards
For most employees who have worked more than 90 days, Alberta’s Employment Standards Code requires at least:
| Length of Employment | Minimum Notice |
|---|---|
| 90 days to less than 2 years | 1 week |
| 2 years to less than 4 years | 2 weeks |
| 4 years to less than 6 years | 4 weeks |
| 6 years to less than 8 years | 5 weeks |
| 8 years to less than 10 years | 6 weeks |
| 10 years or more | 8 weeks |
These are minimum standards. They are not a formula for full severance.
Common-law working notice can be much longer
Unless an enforceable employment contract validly limits your rights, you can be entitled to common-law reasonable notice in Alberta.
The amount is based on factors including:
- Your age
- Your length of service
- The nature and seniority of your position
- The availability of comparable employment
These are commonly referred to as the Bardal factors.
Depending on these factors and your employment contract, working notice or severance can reach 24 months’ pay.
Your Rights During Working Notice
Your employer can’t give you notice and then strip away the terms of your job while you work it out.
Under Alberta employment standards rules, once termination notice has been given, your employer can’t reduce your earnings or other terms and conditions of employment during the notice period.
That means your employer shouldn’t use working notice as an opportunity to:
- Cut your wages
- Reduce your hours and earnings
- Take away employment benefits
- Make significant negative changes to your duties or position
- Force you to use vacation or banked overtime to replace the notice period
A substantial change to your employment during working notice can also create a constructive dismissal issue.
Can your employer force you to use vacation during working notice?
Your employer can’t simply substitute your vacation entitlement for termination notice. Alberta restricts employers from requiring employees to use vacation during a termination notice period.
Unused vacation pay also remains payable when your employment ends.
Does Working Notice Replace Severance Pay?
Working notice counts toward the notice or severance your employer owes you. It does not automatically eliminate your right to additional compensation.
Think of your total notice entitlement as one amount that can be satisfied through:
- Time spent working after receiving termination notice
- Pay instead of notice
- A combination of the two
For example, assume your full entitlement is 12 months and your employer gives you three months of valid working notice. The three months count toward the 12 months—but they do not turn a 12-month entitlement into a three-month entitlement.
The remaining notice can still be owed as compensation, subject to your employment contract and the normal rules governing wrongful dismissal damages.
Our guide to termination pay versus severance pay in Alberta explains the distinction in more detail.
What if Your Working Notice Is Too Short?
If your working notice does not satisfy your full legal entitlement, you can pursue compensation for the shortfall.
This is where many employees make a costly mistake. They see that their employer has provided the minimum number of weeks required by the Employment Standards Code and assume nothing more is owed.
For many non-unionized employees, that isn’t true.
If you are entitled to substantially more reasonable notice at common law, inadequate working notice can result in a wrongful dismissal claim.
Example: Eight weeks of working notice doesn’t necessarily mean you’re fully paid
An employee with more than 10 years of service is entitled to at least eight weeks under Alberta employment standards.
But suppose that employee’s age, position, service and employment prospects support 14 months of reasonable notice at common law. Giving eight weeks of working notice does not wipe out the rest of the claim simply because the employer met the statutory minimum.
The employee can pursue the remaining compensation they are legally owed.
Do you have to look for another job?
If you pursue damages for additional common-law notice, you have a duty to mitigate by making reasonable efforts to find comparable work.
Income earned from replacement employment during the applicable notice period can affect the damages ultimately owed.
What if Something Changes During Working Notice?
Your employer moves your termination date
A termination notice must give you a clear termination date.
If your employer allows you to keep working beyond the termination date in the notice, Alberta Employment Standards says the original termination is no longer valid. You remain an employee until you or the employer provides new notice.
An employer shouldn’t be able to repeatedly push the date forward and assume every earlier month automatically counts as valid notice toward a later termination.
Your employer ends the working notice early
If your employer decides it no longer wants you to work until the stated termination date, it must account for the notice or compensation still owed.
That can involve pay in lieu of the remaining notice and, where your full common-law entitlement is greater, additional severance.
The company is closing
Working notice is often used when an employer knows months in advance that a location or business will close.
A business closure does not erase your termination rights. The amount of notice still has to satisfy the law. See our guide to company closures and severance in Alberta.
Working Notice Alberta: Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to work during my working notice period?
Yes. You remain employed during working notice and are expected to continue performing your job until the termination date unless your employer releases you earlier or another arrangement is reached.
Don’t simply stop attending work because you have already been told your job is ending.
Can I quit during working notice?
You can resign, but don’t do it without understanding what happens to the compensation you would otherwise receive during the remainder of the notice period.
Leaving voluntarily before the termination date can affect your severance and other rights. If another employer wants you to start immediately, get advice before resigning from your current job.
See our guide to notice of resignation in Alberta.
Can my employer cut my pay during working notice?
No. Alberta employment standards prohibit an employer from reducing earnings or other terms and conditions of employment during the termination notice period.
Can I still get severance after working notice ends?
Yes, if the working notice was less than your full entitlement. The amount of valid working notice is credited against what your employer owes, and you can pursue compensation for the remaining notice period.
Can I negotiate working notice instead?
Yes. You can ask your employer to end the employment relationship earlier and provide compensation instead of requiring you to work the entire notice period.
See our guide to negotiating severance in Alberta.
Can I be fired for cause during working notice?
Yes—but your employer still has to prove just cause. Serious misconduct during a working notice period can result in immediate termination without further notice or severance.
Being accused of misconduct does not establish cause. See our guide to termination for cause in Alberta.
Have Your Working Notice Reviewed Before Your Job Ends
The fact that your employer gave you advance warning does not mean it gave you enough warning.
The Alberta employment lawyers at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP can review your termination letter, employment contract and working notice period and calculate the full compensation you are entitled to pursue.
If your notice is too short, we can determine the severance shortfall and help you seek the compensation you are owed.
Employees in Calgary can speak with our Calgary severance pay lawyers. Employees in Edmonton can contact our Edmonton severance pay lawyers.
The process doesn’t need to be overwhelming. Find out where you stand before your final day arrives.