Short Time on the Job? You Can Still Get Big Severance in Ontario
A short stint at a new job does not mean a small severance. If you were recruited away from a secure role, or hired into a senior one, your notice can be far larger than your tenure suggests.
Key takeaways
- Severance is not simply a set number of weeks per year of service.
- Being recruited or induced away from a secure job can lengthen your notice.
- A senior role can mean a long notice period even after a year or two.
- Age and a limited job market push the number up, regardless of short tenure.
- Do not accept a small offer just because you were there a short time. Get it reviewed.
In this article
One of the most common mistakes people make after a short stint at a new job is assuming they are owed little or nothing. Employers count on that assumption. But Ontario severance is not calculated by tenure alone, and employees recruited into senior roles, or lured away from stable jobs, are regularly awarded far more notice than their short service would suggest.
✅Quick answer. Your severance depends on more than how long you worked there. Courts weigh your age, the seniority of your role, the job market, and whether you were induced away from secure employment. Because of those factors, employees have received close to a year of common law notice after only a year or two on the job. A short tenure is a reason to check your entitlement, not to assume you have none.
Does short service mean a small severance?
Not necessarily. Common law reasonable notice is assessed holistically using the Bardal factors: your age, length of service, the character of your employment, and the availability of similar work. Length of service is only one of the four, and for a senior or older employee it is often outweighed by the others. That is why the "one month per year" rule of thumb is misleading, especially at the short end.
Were you recruited away from a secure job?
If so, that can significantly increase your notice. Where an employer actively recruits or induces you to leave stable, long-term employment, courts recognize that you gave up security in reliance on the new job, and they lengthen the notice period to reflect it. The Supreme Court accepted inducement as a relevant factor in Wallace v. United Grain Growers Ltd. ([1997] 3 SCR 701), where a long-service employee had been persuaded to leave secure employment. The more you were pursued, promised, and moved from a stable position, the stronger this argument becomes.
Senior roles get longer notice, even after a short time
The character of the job matters a great deal. Senior and specialized roles take longer to replace, so they attract longer notice even when tenure is short. In Felice v. Cardinal Health Canada Inc. (2014 ONSC 1190), a senior executive of only about 19 months was awarded 12 months of notice, the court weighing his senior role, his age of 52, and the limited market for comparable positions. In West v. Mex Precision Wire Corporation (2018 ONSC 6572), a general manager with just one year of service, aged 59, also received 12 months. In both, short service was simply not the deciding factor.
A contemplated long-term relationship counts too
Courts also look at what both sides expected the job to be. In Rodgers v. CEVA Freight Canada (2014 ONSC 6583), the employee was awarded 14 months after under three years, in part because the parties clearly contemplated a long-term relationship, shown by a substantial mandatory equity investment and management's emphasis on senior staff having a real stake in the company. When you were brought in for the long haul, a court will not treat your dismissal as if the job was always meant to be brief.
What this means for your severance
It means a low offer based only on your short tenure is often wrong. If you were recruited into a senior position, moved from a secure job, or are older and facing a thin market, your real entitlement can be many times what a "few weeks" offer suggests. This is exactly the kind of situation where a proper severance valuation, rather than a tenure-based guess, changes the number dramatically.
What should you do?
- 1.Write down how you were recruited: who approached whom, and any promises or assurances made.
- 2.Keep your offer letter, emails, and anything showing you left a secure job to take this one.
- 3.Do not accept a severance offer calculated only on your length of service.
- 4.Get advice. A free review accounts for inducement, seniority, and age, not just tenure.
For how the full number is built, see severance pay in Ontario and how much severance you are owed. Older workers in particular should read severance for older employees, since age often does the heaviest lifting when service is short.
Frequently asked questions
Do I get severance if I only worked at a job for a year in Ontario?
Possibly a substantial one. Severance is based on age, the seniority of your role, the job market, and whether you were induced away from secure employment, not just tenure. Employees with a year or two of service have received around 12 months of notice.
Does being recruited away from another job increase my severance?
It can. Where an employer induced you to leave secure employment, courts lengthen the notice period to reflect the security you gave up, as recognized in Wallace v. United Grain Growers. Keep records of how you were recruited and any promises made.
Why would a senior employee get long notice after short service?
Senior and specialized roles are harder to replace, so they attract longer notice even when tenure is short. In cases like Felice v. Cardinal Health and West v. Mex Precision Wire, employees with one to two years of service received 12 months.
Should I accept a severance offer based on my short time there?
Not without a review. Offers based only on tenure frequently understate what you are owed once inducement, seniority, age, and the job market are factored in. Have it valued before you sign.
Priya Sharma
Legal Writer, Mirza Law
Priya Sharma is a legal writer at Mirza Law in Toronto. She writes about wrongful dismissal, workplace rights, and what Ontario employees can do when they are treated unfairly.
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