A Primer on the Mass Termination Provision in the Employment Standards Act

Introduction

In Ontario, provincially-regulated employers must provide enhanced statutory notice of termination (or pay in lieu thereof) when a significant number of employees are dismissed – a scenario referred to as a “mass termination.”

What is mass termination?

Under s. 58(1) of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”), a “mass termination” occurs when the employment of 50 or more employees is terminated at an employer’s “establishment” within any four-week period.

Enhanced statuto...