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How do we get your severance right? Here's what we do
A few weeks of pay can mean thousands of dollars. So when you ask what you're owed, the answer has to stand on solid ground. Here's how our team works to get your severance right.
We're a modern team focused on one thing: helping Ontario workers understand their rights when a job ends. We combine real court decisions, the rules of the law and a customized AI assistant built only for Ontario employment law.
It starts with real court decisions
Every answer draws on nearly 4,000 Ontario employment decisions and Ontario's employment laws, and shows you the cases it relied on. One click and you can read what the judge actually decided.
Your legal minimum, by the rules
In the severance calculator, your minimum under the Employment Standards Act is calculated with the rules in the Act, the same way every time. What courts award on top of it is estimated from comparable decisions, and you see which ones.
Tested, then tested again
Whenever we change how our assistant works, we run the tests that cover it: 72 in all, three times each.
- 41 question tests. Does it stick to the cases it was given? Cover both the law and what courts award? Flag a deadline to sign? Politely decline a request for a cake recipe?
- 31 document tests on sample letters and contracts: a low severance offer, a non-compete clause, a demotion memo, a firing for cause.
One sample letter offers a warehouse supervisor 4 weeks' pay after 12 years. The assistant has to spot that the law alone requires 8 weeks' notice.
When we find a mistake, we fix it
When an appeal changes an award, the site now counts the result that stands. In Dawe v. Equitable Life, a 30-month award was cut to 24 months on appeal, and estimates now use the 24. We also checked every notice period in our case data and removed the ones a court never actually awarded.
Still, check before you sign
No tool can promise every answer is right. Read the decisions behind your numbers, and before you sign a release, know what you're owed.
Ontario Severance is independent and isn't a law firm. It gives general information, not legal advice. Want a lawyer's opinion? You can request a free initial consultation from any chat or calculator result.
Sources
This article is general information about Ontario employment law, not legal advice. The law and its application change, and every case turns on its own facts: for advice about your situation, speak with an Ontario employment lawyer.