“Working notices” refers to the advance notice employers must provide employees before terminating their employment without cause. This means that the termination is not the employee’s fault but is due to downsizing, restructuring, financial constraints, and so on.

In this case, the employer must provide notice or payment in lieu of notice, which also denotes that the employee must work through the notice period. The purpose of these notices is to give employees enough time to find another job while retaining employment, wages, and benefits. 

How Much Notice to Give

If the employment contract contains an enforceable termination provision, the employee’s notice entitlement will be slated in the contract. The contractual notice must meet or exceed the minimum statutory notice requirements in section 63 of the British Columbia Employment Standards Act.

Statutory Notice

• After three consecutive months of employment – One week’s notice
• After 12 consecutive months of employment – Two week’s notice
• After three consecutive years of employment – Three week’s notice, plus an additional week for each extra year of employment up to a maximum of eight weeks’ notice.

Common Law Notice

If there’s no employment contract between the parties, or the employment contract doesn’t contain an enforceable termination clause, then the employee is entitled to common law notice. Typically, common law notice is determined by considering the employee’s length of service, age, position, salary, and likelihood of being able to obtain similar employment.

Basic Rules of Working Notices

Here are some essential rules and details to keep in mind when drafting a work notice:

• The notice must be in writing.
• The notice must be clear and unequivocal.
• An employee can sue for wrongful dismissal if the employer gives insufficient working notice.
• If the employee is allowed to work beyond the notice period, the notice is ineffective, and the employee must be given a new one.
• The terms and conditions of the employee’s employment must remain the same during the working notice period.
• The employee must continue performing all their duties during the working notice period.
• If an employee resigns during the working notice period, they’re not entitled to payment for the balance of the working notice period.

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