Work slows, a contract slips a quarter, and an Alberta employer sends a few people home with a promise to call when things pick up. The owner expects the arrangement to be temporary and may not realize how much planning it needs. Alberta treats temporary layoffs as a tightly regulated pause with a written notice requirement, a hard time limit, and an automatic termination waiting at the end of it. After 26 years of advising employers across Alberta, BC, and Saskatchewan, we’ve seen how an informal layoff can leave an employer with an unplanned severance bill during an already difficult season.
How long can a temporary layoff last in Alberta?
A temporary layoff in Alberta can last a maximum of 90 days within a 120-day period. If the employee has not resumed work by the 91st day, their employment is terminated and termination pay is owed if they are entitled to it. The layoff can be extended only through payments the employee agrees to accept.
We use the province’s rules on termination and lay-off to work through the requirements with employers. We’ve summarized them below.
| Question | Alberta rule |
|---|---|
| Maximum length | 90 days in a 120-day period |
| Day 91 without a recall | Employment terminates; termination pay owed if the employee is entitled |
| Layoff notice | Written notice before the layoff starts |
| Recall notice | Written; employee must return within 7 calendar days |
| Employee status during layoff | Still employed |
| Extending the layoff | Only via wages, pension, or benefit payments the employee agrees to accept |
The 90-day ceiling does not apply where a collective agreement contains its own recall or termination rights, and narrow carve-outs exist for school employees and school bus drivers. For everyone else, we recommend tracking the dates from the outset so the deadline doesn’t come as a surprise.
A layoff notice has to say more than “we’ll call you”
We start with the written notice because it’s easy to miss a requirement before the layoff has even begun. To be valid, a temporary layoff notice must be in writing, must state that it is a temporary layoff notice along with its effective date, and must include sections 62 to 64 of the Employment Standards Code. A conversation in the lunchroom doesn’t meet that standard, and neither does a text message promising to call in the spring.
The province’s guidance states that without proper notice, the employee may have been unjustly or constructively dismissed. Some courts have gone further and held that even where the Code permits a layoff, an employee whose contract or collective agreement contains no layoff provision keeps the right to sue for constructive or wrongful dismissal. We recommend reviewing the employment contract before you lay anyone off, especially if it says nothing about layoffs. We explain the risks of changing employment terms in our guide to constructive dismissal in Alberta.
We also check whether any affected employees are entitled to a protected leave. An employer cannot lay off an employee who is entitled to or has started a job-protected leave, unless the business itself is suspended or discontinued. That includes employees on maternity and parental leave in Alberta.
Recalls, and what happens when nobody comes back
We plan for the recall as carefully as the layoff itself. A recall notice must be in writing and must state that the employee is required to return to work within 7 calendar days from the date the notice was served. Service can happen in person, by leaving the notice at the employee’s address with a person who appears to be 18 or older, or by mail or registered mail. Keep proof of how and when you served it, because that’s when the 7-day clock starts.
If the employee does not return within those 7 calendar days, the employer can terminate the employment without owing termination notice or termination pay. The same is true of an employee who refuses reasonable alternate work while laid off.
Where employers get it wrong
Two patterns come up again and again in the 20 to 200 person companies we support. The first is an informal layoff where nobody writes a notice, records an effective date, or counts the days. Past the three-month mark, they discover the employment ended by law on day 91 and termination pay is owed for people they fully intended to bring back. By then, the employer is facing a cost they haven’t budgeted for.
The second is relying on the Code without reviewing the employment contract. An employer reads that Alberta allows 90-day layoffs and assumes that settles it, without checking what the employment contract says. When the contract is silent, the employee may still have a claim for constructive or wrongful dismissal, and the courts have entertained exactly that argument. The Code sets out how a layoff works, but whether this employee can be laid off at all is a contract question that template contracts may leave unanswered.
What a properly run layoff looks like
We work through the details before the notice goes out. Check each affected employee’s contract for a layoff clause and get advice where the contract is silent. Issue a written notice that names itself as a temporary layoff notice, states the effective date, and includes the required Code sections. Then put two dates in your calendar: the day the 90-in-120 window closes, and a decision date a few weeks ahead of it when you’ll decide on recall, extension, or termination, so you’re prepared before day 91.
If you need more time, the layoff can be extended when the employer keeps making payments to or on behalf of the employee, such as wages or benefit contributions, and the employee agrees to accept them in place of the time limit. We recommend putting that agreement in writing; termination pay becomes payable when the payments stop. If the layoff ends in termination instead, final earnings, including any termination pay, must be paid within 10 calendar days after the end of the pay period in which the termination occurred, or within 31 calendar days after the last day of employment.
We also check whether a larger reduction triggers an additional notice requirement. An employer intending to terminate 50 or more employees at a single location within a 4-week period must give the responsible minister at least 4 weeks of written notice. Group notice to the minister is not required for temporary layoffs themselves, but individual termination notices are still required if those layoffs end in termination.
Frequently asked questions
Is an employee still employed during a temporary layoff in Alberta? Yes. A layoff is a pause in work, and the employee remains employed throughout it. The layoff ends either with a recall to work or with a termination, at which point termination pay rules apply if the employee is entitled.
Can a temporary layoff go past 90 days? Only in limited cases. The employer can extend the layoff by making regular payments such as wages, pension, or benefits, and the employee must agree to accept those payments in place of the time limit. Termination pay becomes payable when the payments stop. Collective agreements with recall rights follow their own rules.
What if a laid-off employee refuses to come back? An employee who does not return within 7 calendar days of being served a valid written recall notice can be terminated without termination notice or termination pay. The recall notice must be in writing and properly served for that consequence to hold.
Can we lay off someone on maternity leave or another protected leave? No. Employers cannot lay off an employee who is entitled to or has started a job-protected leave, unless the employer suspends or discontinues the business. Even then, reinstatement obligations can apply if operations resume within 52 weeks of the end of the leave.
Get the paperwork right before the slow season
A layoff done properly is a legitimate tool for riding out a rough stretch, and one done casually is a termination claim on a delay. Daeco HR Consulting has spent 26+ years helping employers across Alberta, BC, and Saskatchewan manage layoffs, recalls, and terminations from our Edmonton office. If a slowdown is coming, our HR support for small business covers the contract review, the notices, and the calendar management that keep a pause from becoming a payout.