Sherritt Layoffs: What Ontario Employees Are Owed in Severance
Any signing deadline your employer sets is its own choice, not the law's. The ESA floor is counted in weeks; the common law, if the layoff becomes a termination, is usually counted in months.
Key takeaways
- Check your contract for a clause that lets the employer lay you off. Without one, the layoff itself may be a constructive dismissal.
- Check every week off against the 13 week count. A week counts as a layoff week when you earn less than half your regular pay for it, so a few short shifts may not stop the clock.
- Check whether your benefits continue during the layoff. If the employer keeps paying into your pension or group insurance, the ESA lets a layoff run longer than 13 weeks before it counts as a termination.
- Check the first day of your layoff and write it down. If the layoff turns into a termination, the ESA dates the termination to that first day.
- Check every RSU, option and bonus date that falls inside the layoff or a possible notice period. Write down each date and amount; a vest or payout that lands inside the notice period can be part of what you are owed.
In this article
✅Quick answer. Sherritt has announced a temporary layoff. While a valid temporary layoff runs, no notice or severance is owed. If it becomes a termination, you are owed ESA notice, severance pay if you have 5 years, and usually months more under the common law.
What did Sherritt announce?
| At a glance | What the public record shows |
|---|---|
| Announced | November 4, 2026 |
| Effective | Not disclosed |
| People affected | About 280 employees (The Deep Dive) |
| Share of workforce | 47% of the Canadian workforce (The Deep Dive) |
| Layoff or furlough | A temporary layoff, which the Bloomberg headline calls a furlough, tied to the fallout from expanded US sanctions on Cuba as Bloomberg reports it |
| Canadian impact | Expected to last about 90 days; workers could return earlier if operations resume. The Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta refinery stopped processing nickel and cobalt on June 22 (The Deep Dive) |
What should you do in the first 48 hours?
- Ask for more time in writing, using the email below.
- Sign nothing, not even the release; do not resign or call it a resignation.
- Save what you can; ask HR in writing for your contract, plan documents and pay stubs.
- Note the date, who told you and what they said.
- Apply for EI online after your last day, without waiting for the Record of Employment; over 4 weeks late can cost benefits.
👥If your colleagues got the same letter. Compare notes on what each person was offered and told. Count how many people at your location got a letter in the same 4 weeks, because 50 or more changes the ESA minimum. Do not sign together on the employer's timetable. Keep every letter, and any recall notice that follows.
Does Ontario law apply to you?
Under ESA s. 3(1), the Act applies when your work is performed in Ontario, wherever the parent company sits and whichever entity pays you. If your work is performed outside Ontario, that province's employment standards law governs and the ESA severance pay numbers below are not yours.
What is the ESA minimum for a layoff this size?
Under s. 56, a layoff longer than 13 weeks in any 20 becomes a termination, and it can run longer only on conditions such as the employer continuing to pay you or your benefits. Separately, if your contract gives the employer no right to lay you off, a layoff of any length can be a constructive dismissal at common law, which opens the full common law notice claim.
Under ESA s. 57, notice rises with service: 1 week after 3 months, 2 weeks from 1 to 3 years, then 1 more week per completed year, up to 8 weeks at 8 years.
Under s. 58, if 50 or more people at your location lose their jobs within the same 4 weeks, the minimum notice rises to between 8 and 16 weeks depending on how many; the count is per location, not company wide.
Under s. 64, severance pay is owed if you have 5 or more years of service and the employer's payroll is $2.5 million or more. Under s. 65, it is 1 week of regular wages for each year of service, capped at 26 weeks. The mass termination rules walk through each test.
What are you actually owed at common law?
If the layoff becomes a termination, the first offer is usually built on the ESA floor, and the common law usually sits well above it. How far above depends on your age, length of service, the kind of job and how hard similar work is to find, the factors in Bardal v. Globe & Mail Ltd., 1960 CanLII 294 (ON SC).
Estimate your own range
Enter your age, years of service, role and pay to see the ESA minimum next to a common law range for a profile like yours.
What do tech severance packages usually get wrong?
- They cut off unvested RSUs and options, though in Wigdor v. Facebook Canada Ltd., 2026 ONCA 572, a recent 2026 Court of Appeal decision, clauses ending vesting on termination were void for the ESA notice period; severance for tech workers covers how equity is treated.
- They drop the bonus you would have earned during the notice period, though a plan that only requires active employment is not enough to take it away (Paquette v. TeraGo Networks Inc., 2016 ONCA 618).
- They rely on the termination clause, though if one sentence in the termination section breaks the ESA, often the for cause paragraph, the whole clause fails and you are back to common law notice (Waksdale v. Swegon North America Inc., 2020 ONCA 391).
What should you do before you sign?
The release is the one thing you cannot undo, so before you sign it, have someone on your side check the numbers against the ESA minimum and the court ranges above. Book a free severance review; the firm works on a percentage of what it recovers, and there is no fee if nothing is recovered.
This article is general information about Ontario law. It is not legal advice about your situation.
How we can help
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I am recalled and do not go back?
Under O. Reg. 288/01, s. 2(1), an employee on a temporary layoff who does not return within a reasonable time after being asked loses ESA notice and termination pay. If you cannot return, say why in writing straight away. Before you refuse, get advice on whether the layoff has already become a termination.
What happens if the date passes and I have not signed?
Your ESA entitlements are owed whether or not you sign, and your common law claim does not lapse with the offer. The employer may withdraw the offer itself, so measure it against what a court would likely award, not against the letter.
Can I claim EI while I am on a temporary layoff?
You can apply once your last day of work has passed; Service Canada, not your employer, decides whether you qualify. Do not hold off for a recall date or for the Record of Employment, because you can send required documents after you apply.
Can I take other work while I am laid off?
Yes, you can take another job while you are laid off. Your employer can still recall you, so answer every recall notice in writing. Service Canada decides what the new pay does to your EI; if the layoff later becomes a termination, the new pay can lower what you are owed, but you keep the claim.
Daniel Carter
Legal Writer, Mirza Law
Daniel Carter is a legal writer at Mirza Law in Toronto. He writes about layoffs, employment contracts, and the steps to take before you sign anything from your employer.
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