The BC Employment Standards Act, requires employers to give employees compensation for length of service when they are being terminated. Employers can also discharge this liability by giving employees written notice or a combination of pay and written notice.

1. Terminating
Employees
Heather Hettiarachchi, LLB; MSc; CPHR
IntegritasWorkplaceLaw.com

2. Terminating Employees
The BC Employment Standards Act (the “Act“), requires employers to give
employees compensation for length of service when they are being
terminated. Employers can also discharge this liability by giving employees
written notice or a combination of pay and written notice.
Compensation for length of service under Section 63 of the Act:
After 3 consecutive months of employment, the employer must pay an
employee an amount equal to one week’s wages, or give the employee
one week’s written notice or a combination of the two.
After 12 consecutive months of employment, the employer must pay an
employee an amount equal to two weeks wages, or give the employee
two weeks written notice or a combination of the two.
After 3 consecutive years of employment, the employer must pay an
employee an amount equal to three weeks wages plus one additonal
week’s wages for each additional year of employment to a maximum of
8 weeks wages. The employer can discharge this obligation by giving
written notice or a combination of written notice and pay.
An employer cannot change the employee’s conditions of employment
without the employee’s consent after notice of termination has been given.
The notice period cannot coincide with an employee’s vacation.
Vacation pay is payable on compensation for length of service.
Heather Hettiarachchi, LLB; MSc; CPHR
IntegritasWorkplaceLaw.com

3. Terminating Employees
An employer is not required to give compensation for length of service or to
give written notice of termination in the following circumstances:
the employee resigns or retires
the employee is dismissed for just cause
the employee is working under an arrangement whereby the employer
can request the employee to come to work at any time for a temporary
period and the employee can accept/reject one or more of the
temporary periods
the employee is employed for a definite term
the employee is employed for speci c work which is to be completed
within a period of up to 12 months
it is not possible for the employment contract to be performed due to
an unforeseeable event or circumstance (except for receivership or
insolvency)
the employee is employed at one or more construction sites and the
employer’s principal business is construction
the employee has been o ered and has refused reasonable alternative
employment
the Act does not apply to the employee
The information provided above relates to an employer’s statutory notice
obligations.
Heather Hettiarachchi, LLB; MSc; CPHR
IntegritasWorkplaceLaw.com

4. Terminating Employees
Employers must not forget that common law reasonable notice
obligations would apply even in situations where the Act does not require
notice. A couple of examples:
The Act does not require an employer to provide compensation for
length of service if the employment is for a de nite term. However, if an
employer terminates an employee prior to the end of a xed term
contract, pursuant to the common law, an employer must pay out the
balance of the term, unless the contract provides for some other period
of reasonable notice.
The Act does not require an employer to pay compensation for length of
service to an employee who is excluded from the application of the
Act. However, these employees must be given notice in accordance with
the common law requirement to provide reasonable notice.
Employee terminations must be done carefully and employers are
encouraged to seek legal counsel before terminating an employee or
employees.
Heather Hettiarachchi, LLB; MSc; CPHR
IntegritasWorkplaceLaw.com

5. Terminating Employees
We advocate workplace integrity. Our goal is to provide
practical and effective advice to enable parties to resolve
their workplace issues in a timely and practical way.
IntegritasWorkplaceLaw.com
iwl@telus.net
604.816.8577
Heather Hettiarachchi, LLB; MSc; CPHR
IntegritasWorkplaceLaw.com