If you’ve lost your job in Edmonton and received a severance package, don’t assume your employer’s first offer is everything you’re owed. For many non-unionized employees, full severance is significantly greater than the minimum amount provided under Alberta employment standards.
A severance pay lawyer can review your termination letter and employment contract, calculate your full entitlement and negotiate directly with your employer to recover the compensation you’re owed.
Severance in Alberta can reach 24 months’ pay, depending on factors such as your age, position, length of service and the availability of comparable employment. If your employer has given you only a few weeks—or told you the offer expires in a few days—get the package checked before you sign.
On This Page:
- 1. How an Edmonton Severance Lawyer Can Help
- 2. How Much Severance Are You Owed?
- 3. Is Your Severance Offer Fair?
- 4. Common Severance Problems
- 5. What Happens When We Review Your Package?
- 6. Severance Pay FAQs
How an Edmonton Severance Pay Lawyer Can Help
A severance package is more than the number of weeks written in your termination letter. Your employment contract, compensation, length of service and the circumstances surrounding your dismissal all affect what your employer owes you.
Our severance lawyers help Edmonton employees:
- Calculate their full severance entitlement
- Review termination clauses in employment contracts
- Identify compensation missing from an offer, including bonuses, commissions and benefits
- Challenge termination-for-cause allegations
- Negotiate improved severance packages directly with employers and their lawyers
- Pursue a wrongful dismissal claim when an employer refuses to provide proper compensation
- Review the final release before you give up your legal rights
The process doesn’t need to be confrontational or overwhelming. The first step is simply determining what you’re legally owed.
How Much Severance Pay Are You Owed in Edmonton?
Alberta employees need to understand the difference between minimum termination pay and full severance.
Alberta’s Employment Standards Code sets minimum termination notice or pay based primarily on length of service. Those minimums range from one to eight weeks for eligible employees.
But eight weeks is not a maximum severance package.
Alberta recognizes that employees can be entitled to substantially greater notice under common law. Learn more in our complete guide to severance pay in Alberta.
What determines full severance?
If an enforceable employment contract has not validly limited your rights, your common-law severance entitlement is based on factors that include:
- Age: Older employees can require more time to find comparable work
- Length of service: Long-service employees often receive longer notice periods
- Position: Your responsibilities, seniority and type of work matter
- Availability of similar work: A difficult job market can increase reasonable notice
These are commonly known as the Bardal factors.
There is no simple formula of “one week per year” or “one month per year.” Depending on your circumstances, severance can reach 24 months’ pay.
Does your employment contract affect severance?
Yes. A termination clause in your employment agreement can attempt to limit your severance rights.
But don’t assume the clause is enforceable because you signed the contract. The wording has to comply with the law. If the clause does not validly limit your common-law entitlement, your severance can be substantially greater.
Is Your Edmonton Severance Offer Fair?
The amount in your termination letter should be compared against your legal entitlement—not against what your employer calls “standard.”
Common warning signs that a package needs to be reviewed include:
- The offer provides only a few weeks despite years of service
- Your employer says the package is based only on Alberta minimums
- Bonuses, commissions or incentive compensation are missing
- Benefits end immediately
- Your employer relies on a termination clause you don’t understand
- You are given only a few days to sign
- The company says the offer is “final” or “non-negotiable”
- You are asked to sign a broad release before receiving additional compensation
Your employer’s deadline is not your legal deadline
Given two, three or five days to sign? You do not lose your severance rights when that date passes.
Alberta’s basic limitation period for a civil wrongful dismissal claim is two years from discovery of the claim. In an ordinary termination case, that clock will normally begin when you know you’ve been dismissed and have a claim arising from the termination.
You shouldn’t wait until the limitation period is approaching. But you also shouldn’t sign away thousands of dollars in potential compensation because your employer gave you an artificial deadline.
If the offer is too low, our lawyers can negotiate your Alberta severance package and seek the proper amount.
Common Severance Problems Our Lawyers for Edmonton Handle
Your employer fired you “for cause”
Being told that you’re fired for cause does not make the allegation legally valid.
Just cause is a serious legal threshold. If your employer can’t establish conduct serious enough to justify dismissal without notice, you can still be entitled to full severance.
Learn more about termination for cause in Alberta.
You received working notice instead of a severance cheque
Working notice is legal, but the notice still has to be long enough.
If your full entitlement is 12 months and your employer gives you only two months of valid working notice, the two months do not erase the remaining claim.
See our guide to working notice in Alberta.
Your position was eliminated in a layoff or restructuring
A restructuring, downsizing or shortage of work does not eliminate your severance rights. An employer can eliminate your position, but it still has to provide the termination notice or compensation you are legally owed.
Your employer says you received the Alberta maximum
Alberta’s statutory maximum of eight weeks is the maximum minimum notice under the Employment Standards Code. It is not a universal maximum severance package.
Our guide to termination pay versus severance pay in Alberta explains this critical distinction.
You believe you’ve been wrongfully dismissed
Wrongful dismissal does not mean your employer needed a good reason to terminate you. In most cases, an employer can end a non-unionized employee’s employment without cause.
The dismissal becomes wrongful when the employer does not provide the notice or compensation required by law.
If that has happened, our Edmonton wrongful dismissal lawyers can help you pursue the shortfall.
What Happens When We Review Your Severance Package?
You don’t need to understand the legal language in your termination letter before contacting us. Our job is to make the situation clear.
A severance review focuses on:
- Your employment history. We look at your age, service, position, compensation and employment prospects.
- Your employment contract. We assess whether a termination clause actually limits your rights.
- Your entire compensation package. Salary is only one component. Bonuses, commissions, benefits and other compensation can matter.
- The circumstances of your dismissal. We assess cause allegations and other legal issues that affect your claim.
- The gap between the offer and your entitlement. You receive a clear understanding of what you’re owed and what to do next.
If the package is inadequate, we can take over communication with your employer and negotiate on your behalf.
What should you have ready?
If available, keep copies of:
- Your termination letter and severance offer
- Your employment contract and amendments
- Recent pay information
- Bonus or commission plans
- Benefits information
- Relevant correspondence about your termination
Don’t delay contacting a lawyer simply because you’re missing one of these documents.
Edmonton Severance Pay Lawyer: Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a lawyer to negotiate severance?
You are allowed to negotiate yourself. The risk is doing so before you know the value of your claim. A severance lawyer can determine what you’re owed, identify problems with the offer and negotiate from a legally supported position.
How much severance can I get in Alberta?
Full severance can reach 24 months’ pay. The amount depends on your employment contract and factors including your age, length of service, position and the availability of comparable work.
Is one week per year of service the rule?
No. There is no common-law rule limiting severance to one week per year—or one month per year. Length of service is only one factor in the calculation.
Can my employer make me sign my severance package in three days?
Your employer can put a deadline in its offer, but that date does not erase your underlying legal severance rights. Get the package reviewed before you sign.
What if I’ve already signed?
A signed release is normally binding, which is why review before signing is so important. There are limited situations where the validity of an agreement can be challenged, but don’t assume you’ll be able to undo it afterward.
Can I be fired without cause in Edmonton?
Yes. An employer can terminate most non-unionized employees without cause as long as the dismissal is not illegal and the employee receives the proper notice or compensation.
If you need advice beyond the severance package itself, our Edmonton employment lawyers handle a broad range of workplace disputes.
Speak With an Edmonton Severance Pay Lawyer Before You Sign
Losing your job can create immediate financial uncertainty. A short deadline and a lengthy legal release only add to the pressure.
You don’t have to guess whether the offer is fair.
The employment lawyers at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP help employees in Edmonton understand their severance rights, calculate the compensation they are owed and negotiate with employers when an offer falls short.
Before you sign, always check first.