Alert!
If you're temporarily laid off for reasons related to the coronavirus pandemic, the maximum length of the layoff is 16 weeks. This is up from the usual 13 weeks, as described below.
Getting temporarily laid off is different from getting fired. Most importantly: you get to keep your job. You’re standing by to be called back to work. Typically, your employer must do so within three months.
Here are some specifics. If a temporary layoff is permitted under the law, the Employment Standards Act limits how long the layoff can last. (This law applies to “employees” — which covers most but not all workers in the province. See who’s covered.)
Under the Act, an employer may temporarily lay off a worker for up to 13 weeks in a consecutive 20-week period. If the layoff lasts more than 13 weeks in a 20-week period, it can no longer be called “temporary.” At that point, it’s as if you were fired without cause on the first day of the layoff.
(Your employer can apply to the Employment Standards Branch to extend the 13-week period.)
The 20-week period begins on the first day of the layoff. The 13-week period is exceeded on the first day of the 14th week of layoff. If your employer misses the deadline to recall you to work, you now have the same rights as someone who was fired without cause. In particular, you have the right to notice, severance pay, or some combination of the two. See our guidance on how much notice an employer needs to give you.