Ontario: the official figures for 2026

These are all the figures of jurisdictions.ontario in the data file: 14 loose figures and five tables with 26 rows, each with the statute it comes from, when it took effect and how far it has been verified.

Updated September 6, 2026 · Figures verified against the statutes of each jurisdiction · see all figures and their sources

It is one of the 14 pages of the Jurisdictions block, inside official figures. The raw data is in legal-data-2026.json.

Verified: Read in the primary source: the consolidated text of the statute or regulation itself.
Secondary source: The rule and the starting figures are official, but the resolved figure is not published by any authority: we work it out and show the arithmetic.
Not yet verified: We have not been able to confirm it against the primary source yet. It appears here for transparency and is not published as a firm figure on any other page of the site: the production build stops if anyone tries.

`jurisdictions.ontario`

Figures in `jurisdictions.ontario`
Key	Value	Source	Validity	Status
`ontario.notice.qualifying_service` Below three months of continuous employment the ESA gives no notice and no termination pay.	3 months	Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 54 — No termination without notice	From 2001-09-04	Verified Reviewed 2026-09-06
`ontario.severance.exists` Ontario is one of only two Canadian jurisdictions with a statutory severance pay separate from notice or pay in lieu of notice; the other is the federal jurisdiction.	Yes	Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 64 — Entitlement to severance pay	From 2001-09-04	Verified Reviewed 2026-09-06
`ontario.severance.service_minimum` All time in that employer's employ counts, continuous or not, active or not (s. 65(2)).	5 years	Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 64 — Entitlement to severance pay	From 2001-09-04	Verified Reviewed 2026-09-06
`ontario.severance.payroll_threshold` Payroll is measured either as total wages of all employees in the four weeks ending with the last completed pay period before the severance, multiplied by 13, or as total wages in the employer's last or second-last fiscal year (s. 64(2)).	$2,500,000.00	Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 64 — Entitlement to severance pay	From 2001-09-04	Verified Reviewed 2026-09-06
`ontario.severance.mass_threshold` This is the alternative route into severance pay for employees of a smaller employer: 50 or more severances in a six-month period caused by a permanent shutdown of all or part of the business.	50 employees	Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 64 — Entitlement to severance pay	From 2001-09-04	Verified Reviewed 2026-09-06
`ontario.severance.per_year` One week of regular wages per completed year, plus a twelfth of a week for each completed leftover month.	1 week	Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 65 — Calculating severance pay	From 2001-09-04	Verified Reviewed 2026-09-06
`ontario.severance.minimum` Ontario sets no floor on severance pay: the calculation starts at five years of employment and simply runs from there. The federal jurisdiction is the one with a floor, five days' wages.	None	Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 65 — Calculating severance pay	From 2001-09-04	Verified Reviewed 2026-09-06
`ontario.severance.maximum`	26 weeks	Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 65 — Calculating severance pay	From 2001-09-04	Verified Reviewed 2026-09-06
`ontario.group_termination.threshold`	50 employees	Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 58 — Notice, 50 or more employees	From 2001-09-04	Verified Reviewed 2026-09-06
`ontario.group_termination.window` The 50 terminations must fall in the same four-week period at the same establishment.	4 weeks	Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 58 — Notice, 50 or more employees	From 2001-09-04	Verified Reviewed 2026-09-06
`ontario.holidays.count` Ontario calls them public holidays. The list is closed in the definition in section 1, with room for more to be added by regulation.	9	Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 1 — Definitions	—	Verified Reviewed 2026-09-06
`ontario.final_pay.days_after_termination` Seven days is a floor, not the whole rule: if your next pay day is later, that later date governs.	7 days	Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 11 — Payment of wages	From 2001-09-04	Verified Reviewed 2026-09-06
`ontario.final_pay.days_after_quit` Ontario uses one deadline whether you quit or the employer ended the job: the later of seven days after the employment ends and your next pay day.	7 days	Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 11 — Payment of wages	From 2001-09-04	Verified Reviewed 2026-09-06
`ontario.complaint.deadline`	2 years	Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 96 — Complaints	From 2001-09-04	Verified Reviewed 2026-09-06

Table `ontario.notice.schedule.rows`
`service_from_years`	`service_to_years`	`weeks`
0.25 years	1 year	1 week
1 year	3 years	2 weeks
3 years	4 years	3 weeks
4 years	5 years	4 weeks
5 years	6 years	5 weeks
6 years	7 years	6 weeks
7 years	8 years	7 weeks
8 years	—	8 weeks

Source: Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 57 — Employer notice period. Reviewed on September 6, 2026.

Table `ontario.notice.temporary_layoff_limits.rows`
`label`	`max_value`	`max_unit`	`window_value`	`window_unit`	`condition`	`source`	`quote`
Basic limit	13	weeks	20	weeks	—	on_esa_s56	a lay-off of not more than 13 weeks in any period of 20 consecutive weeks
Extended limit	35	weeks	52	weeks	The lay-off has to stay under 35 weeks in any 52 consecutive weeks and your employer has to keep something going for you: substantial payments, contributions to a pension or group insurance plan, supplementary unemployment benefits, or a recall inside the time the Director approves or the time you agreed to.	on_esa_s56	a lay-off of more than 13 weeks in any period of 20 consecutive weeks, if the lay-off is less than 35 weeks in any period of 52 consecutive weeks
Agreed extension	52	weeks	78	weeks	Only where you are not represented by a union: you and your employer agree in writing to an extended lay-off, the agreement names the latest date you will be recalled, the Director approves it, and the lay-off stays under 52 weeks in any 78 consecutive weeks. Once you agree you cannot take the agreement back.	on_esa_s66_1	An employer and an employee may agree to a lay-off that is 35 or more weeks in any period of 52 consecutive weeks, but may not agree to a lay-off of 52 or more weeks in any period of 78 consecutive weeks.
Union recall period	—	—	—	—	Where you are represented by a union, a lay-off of 35 weeks or more in 52 consecutive weeks stays temporary for as long as the recall time in the collective agreement runs. The Act puts no ceiling on it.	on_esa_s56	a lay-off of 35 or more weeks in any period of 52 consecutive weeks where the employer recalls the employee within the time set out in an agreement between the employer and the trade union

Source: Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 56 — What constitutes termination; temporary lay-off. Reviewed on September 6, 2026.

Table `ontario.group_termination.schedule.rows`
`employees_from`	`employees_to`	`weeks`
50	199	8 weeks
200	499	12 weeks
500	—	16 weeks

Source: O. Reg. 288/01, s. 3 — Notice, 50 or more employees. Reviewed on September 6, 2026.

Table `ontario.vacation.schedule.rows`
`service_from_years`	`service_to_years`	`weeks`	`pay_percent`
0 years	5 years	2 weeks	4%
5 years	—	3 weeks	6%

Source: Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 33 — Right to vacation. Reviewed on September 6, 2026.

Table `ontario.holidays.list.rows`
`name`	`date_rule`
New Year's Day	January 1
Family Day	The third Monday in February
Good Friday	The Friday before Easter Sunday
Victoria Day	The Monday before May 25
Canada Day	July 1
Labour Day	The first Monday in September
Thanksgiving Day	The second Monday in October
Christmas Day	December 25
Boxing Day	December 26

Source: Employment Standards Act, 2000, s. 1 — Definitions. Reviewed on September 6, 2026.