Manitoba Termination Notice and Pay in Lieu of Notice

When employment ends, the first question is often how much notice the employer had to give. Manitoba Employment Standards Code sets a minimum based on length of service. The employer can let the employee work through the notice, pay wages in lieu of notice, or combine the two. The Code amount is a floor, not a promise that it is the only right in every case.

The statutory notice table

Length of service is called the period of employment. Subject to the exceptions below, the employer notice periods are:

• Less than thirty days: no notice required
• At least thirty days and less than one year: one week
• At least one year and less than three years: two weeks
• At least three years and less than five years: four weeks
• At least five years and less than ten years: six weeks
• At least ten years: eight weeks

Apply the band reached by the final day of employment. A workplace policy or private agreement cannot give less than the Code minimum. In a unionized workplace, read the collective agreement because Employment Standards identifies it as an exclusion from the usual rule against a different policy.

Working notice and wages in lieu

During working notice, the employee continues regular hours and duties at the same rate of pay. After notice is given, the Code restricts changes to working conditions and wage rates, apart from changes it permits, including changes under a collective agreement.

An employer may end work right away and pay wages in lieu, or combine work and payment. The payment must at least equal the wages for regular hours in the part of the notice that was not worked, even if the employee finds other work during the period.

Employment Standards says all wages earned through the last day worked must be paid within ten business days.

How wages in lieu are calculated

For an employee with a stable schedule, multiply regular weekly earnings by the number of notice weeks that were not worked.

An employee with four years of service and regular weekly earnings of $900.00 falls in the four week band. With no working notice, wages in lieu are four times $900.00, which equals $3,600.00 before deductions.

If that employee works one week of notice, the amount in lieu for the remaining three weeks is three times $900.00, which equals $2,700.00 before deductions.

If hours vary, use average earnings for regular weekly hours over the last six months. Vacation wages and overtime wages are not added.

An employee with six years of service has a six week period. If the six month average is $620.00, wages in lieu with no working notice are six times $620.00, which equals $3,720.00 before deductions.

The examples cover the Code minimum only, not benefits, bonuses, commissions or rights outside the Code.

What counts as the period of employment

The period runs from the start date to the final day of employment. It can include temporary interruptions such as a layoff or unpaid leave, seasonal work, and a return to the same employer after a break of less than two months. A returning seasonal employee keeps continuous service, and each consecutive season adds another year. Gather the dates and ask Employment Standards if a break affects the total.

Layoffs that become terminations

A layoff is a temporary break where the employee is likely to return, and notice is not owed merely because it begins. If it lasts longer than eight weeks in a sixteen week period, it becomes a termination, wages in lieu are required, and employment is treated as having ended on the first day.

This conversion does not occur in the official circumstances where the employer continues wages or payments instead of wages, or continues pension plan or group insurance payments. Temporary help employees have added rules. A permanent layoff is a termination, whatever label the employer uses.

When notice may not be required

Employment Standards lists cases in which notice may not be required, including:

• Employment for less than thirty days
• Employment in the construction industry
• A job for a set length of time that ends when that time expires
• A specific task or job that ends when the work is complete
• A case in which the employer can prove just cause
• Work arranged so the employee has substantial control over whether to accept work and is not penalized for refusing it, subject to rules for temporary help employees

The official list contains other circumstances, and the facts matter. A label of just cause does not by itself prove just cause. Group terminations have a separate process and added notice duties.

If an employee resigns

Employees also owe notice in many cases. After at least thirty days and less than one year, the minimum is one week. After at least one year, it is two weeks.

An employer cannot withhold wages earned through the last day if an employee gives too little notice. The wages are due within ten business days. An employer claiming a loss can pursue it through civil court.

The Code minimum is not the whole legal picture

The table states the minimum Employment Standards administers, not a complete valuation of every termination claim.

The Code preserves civil remedies. It also preserves a law, agreement, common law right or custom that gives equal or greater wages or imposes a greater duty on an employer. A contract or collective agreement may provide more than the table, and civil employment law may raise separate rights.

Not every employee receives more. Still, the table is not the automatic final answer when a contract, collective agreement or civil claim may apply. Employment Standards directs civil law questions to a lawyer. Before signing a release, consider independent legal advice about rights outside the Code.

Other laws, including The Human Rights Code, The Workplace Safety and Health Act and The Labour Relations Act, can also apply. Termination because an employee took or requested a legislated leave is prohibited.

Practical steps after a termination

First, confirm the start date, last day and period of employment, including seasonal returns, leaves, layoffs and returns after short breaks.

Second, read any employment contract and, in a unionized workplace, the collective agreement. A unionized employee should ask the union representative about the process for resolving the concern.

Third, compare final pay with the Code calculation. Check whether part of the notice was worked. For changing hours, check the six month average for regular weekly hours and confirm that vacation wages and overtime wages were left out of wages in lieu.

Fourth, keep the termination letter, final pay stub, schedules, service dates and any document the employer asks you to sign.

Finally, act promptly. An employee who believes pay is wrong can file a claim with the Employment Standards Branch within six months of the last day of work or when the incident happened. The Branch investigates as a neutral third party and may ask both sides for documents. A Code claim is separate from advice about a possible civil claim.

This article is general legal information about Manitoba rules as verified on October 14, 2026. It is not legal advice and it does not decide the notice owed in a specific termination, the meaning of a specific contract, or whether just cause exists. For a specific case, contact Manitoba Employment Standards or a qualified Manitoba legal professional.