Home
Resources
Equality & Diversity
- Employer Advice for Giving Employees Pay in Lieu of Notice in Alberta
Employer Advice for Giving Employees Pay in Lieu of Notice in Alberta
- Equality & Diversity
Peninsula Team, Peninsula Team
(Last updated )
Peninsula Team, Peninsula Team
(Last updated )
Jump to section:
In Alberta, employers have the option to provide employees with pay in lieu of notice upon termination. The rules on how to do this correctly are set out in the
noopener
_blank
Employment Standards Code
(ESC), which determines the minimum employment standards for provincially regulated businesses in Alberta. Providing employees with the correct entitlements is crucial to staying compliant with legislation. Here’s what employers should know about pay in lieu of notice, notice periods and termination pay.
Termination
If an employer wants to terminate an employee, they must provide them with termination notice, termination pay or a combination of both. This obligation does not apply if the employee has been employed less than three months or is being dismissed for just cause.
Pay in Lieu of Notice
In situations where employers do not want employees to work through their notice period, employers can provide termination pay instead of notice. In this case, the employee stops coming into work and instead receives compensation for the wages they would have earned had they continued working until their termination date.
Employers can also provide a combination of notice and termination pay. Employees can work partway through their notice period and receive termination pay for the remaining period that they do not work.
Calculating Termination Pay
An employee’s termination pay in lieu of notice must equal the amount of wages they would have earned had they continued regular work during their notice period. The length of the termination notice period depends on how long the employee has worked for their employer.
This is the minimum requirement for termination pay as specified in the ESC. However, under Common Law employees may be eligible for more notice or pay.
Need advice on how much termination notice to give an employee?
Based on circumstances, certain employees are not entitled to termination notice while others may be eligible for more than is legally required. Speak to one of our
HR advisors
to find out how much notice your employee is due.
Contact us
today for help with all types of employee pay, termination and pay in lieu of notice:
1 (833) 247-3652
Related articles
- September 10th 2025Ontario Bill 149: How to Create a Pay Transparency Policy for Your BusinessLegislative updatesCharlie Herrera VacaflorEmployment Law & HR Content Senior Consultant
- June 10th 2025DEI in the Workplace: How to Promote Diversity, Equity and InclusionEquality & DiversityKiljon ShukullariHR Advisory Manager
- June 2nd 2025Pride Month: How to Make Your Workplace LGBTQ2S+ InclusiveEquality & DiversityKiljon ShukullariHR Advisory Manager
Back to resource hub
Try Peninsula Canada today
Find out what 6,500+ businesses across Canada have already discovered. Get round-the-clock HR and health & safety support with Peninsula.
Speak to an expert