Few parts of employment are more important to get right than layoffs, terminations and employee leaves. Employers are remembered by how they treat the people (key word), when the big things happen and how they exit. I like to think of the Monday/Friday feelings, Look Forward to Monday, how you start the week and Friday is how you end, hires and terminations are the same.
They are also areas where words matter.
A temporary layoff isn’t the same thing as a termination. A job-protected leave isn’t simply an extended vacation. And a conversation with an employee doesn’t necessarily replace a written notice when legislation requires one.
Employers need to know the rules. But after years of working with organizations and employees through good economies, difficult economies and everything in between, we’d add something else: know the rules, prepare the documentation, and then remember the human being sitting across from you.
Temporary Layoffs Have Specific Rules in Alberta
Under Alberta Employment Standards, a temporary layoff generally cannot exceed 90 days within a 120-day period.
More importantly, employers can’t simply tell someone verbally, “We’re laying you off temporarily.”
A temporary-layoff notice must be in writing. It must state that the notice is a temporary layoff, include its effective date and include sections 62 through 64 of Alberta’s Employment Standards Code. I am asked frequently if this can be an email, or text? I say yes, as long it is documented, not always the best, but the 2013 Flood and the Pandemic taught us that we don’t work in a perfect world.
This is the boring stuff, but super important if you are faced with this horrible task. If the employee does not resume work by the 91st day within the applicable 120-day period, employment generally terminates and termination pay becomes payable if the employee is entitled to it. There are exceptions, including certain situations involving collective agreements or qualifying payments made with the employee’s agreement, so employers dealing with unusual circumstances should verify the applicable requirements.
Recall from temporary layoff also involves written requirements. Alberta’s rules provide for written recall notice requiring the employee to return to work within seven calendar days from the date the notice is served.
These aren’t areas where employers should rely solely on a phone call or casual conversation.
Termination: Minimum Notice Isn’t Necessarily the Whole Story
For most terminations without cause, an Alberta employer must provide required notice, termination pay instead of notice, or a combination.
Alberta’s statutory minimum employer notice currently ranges from no notice for employees with 90 days of service or less to eight weeks for employees with ten years or more of service, with different minimums between those points.
But there’s a crucial word there: minimum.
Depending on the employee’s contract and circumstances, common-law rights may result in an entitlement beyond the Employment Standards minimum. Employers should therefore be cautious about assuming that looking at the statutory table automatically answers the question, “What do we owe this person?” That question is probably the second most common question I get asked.
Employers also need to deal properly with final earnings. Alberta permits employers to pay final earnings within 10 calendar days after the end of the pay period in which termination occurred or within 31 calendar days after the employee’s last day of employment. A Record of Employment may also be required following an interruption of earnings.
Larger workforce reductions bring additional considerations. Where an employer intends to terminate 50 or more employees at a single location within a four-week period, Alberta’s group-termination requirements can apply, including written notice to the Minister.
Leaves Aren’t All the Same
Alberta provides numerous job-protected leaves, including maternity and parental leave, bereavement leave, personal and family responsibility leave, compassionate care leave, critical illness leave, long-term illness and injury leave, domestic violence leave, reservist leave, citizenship ceremony leave and leave related to the death or disappearance of a child.
Most Alberta job-protected leaves become available after 90 days with the same employer, although employers should always check the requirements for the particular leave involved. These leaves are generally unpaid under Employment Standards, although an employment agreement, collective agreement or employer policy may provide something better, and employees may separately qualify for federal Employment Insurance benefits.
A common employer question is, “Do they have to give us something in writing?”
There isn’t one answer that applies to every leave.
Notice, documentation and medical-certificate requirements vary depending on the type of leave. Some leaves require particular supporting information, while legislation does not require a medical certificate for certain others. Employers shouldn’t create a blanket rule requiring the same documentation every time somebody needs time away. Put yourself in that circumstance and think about how you should be treated. Assuming these leaves are not abused, we need to care about our people.
There is another important layer: human rights.
Employment Standards and human rights obligations aren’t interchangeable. Just do the right thing, within the law and standards.
Now Remember the Person Receiving the News
A termination can be legally correct and still be handled poorly.
A temporary layoff may be necessary for the survival of a business, but the employee hearing the news may immediately be wondering how they’re going to pay their mortgage.
An employee requesting leave might be dealing with the birth of a child, a serious illness, domestic violence or the impending loss of someone they love.
The paperwork matters tremendously.
So does how you speak to them.
Sometimes a simple statement such as, “Thank you for letting us know. Let’s work through what you need and what we need to do from here,” changes the tone of a difficult situation.
During a termination or layoff, give people as much clarity as reasonably possible. Explain what is happening, when it takes effect, what documentation they’re receiving, what they need to do, what the company will do and who they can contact with questions. The who, when, where, why and how questions are the simplest way to finalize the termination, of course with kindness.
Clarity is a form of kindness.
Leaves Are Also Workforce-Planning Events
There is a practical employer consideration here as well.
When someone will be away for three months, six months or a year, the work usually doesn’t disappear.
Who will do it?
That doesn’t necessarily mean permanently hiring another employee. Temporary staffing can provide continuity while preserving the returning employee’s position. Payroll or employment outsourcing may provide another option depending on the situation.
At About Staffing, we’ve helped employers navigate workforce changes through different economic conditions and countless individual circumstances.
The legal requirements always matter.
But we’ve never forgotten that behind every layoff, leave, termination and replacement hire are human beings navigating change.
Good employers understand both.
Research note: This article reflects Alberta employment information available as of August 2026. It is general information and not legal advice. Terminations, layoffs, accommodation and complex leave situations may warrant qualified employment-law advice.