Across Canada, employers are generally required to continue employee benefits (such as health coverage) during the statutory notice period, although the legal wording varies by jurisdiction. Ontario is the clearest example, as its legislation explicitly requires employers to maintain benefit plan contributions throughout the notice period. Other provinces like Alberta and British Columbia do not state this as directly but prohibit employers from reducing wages or changing terms and conditions of employment during notice—this has been interpreted to include benefits, meaning they must be continued.
In the remaining provinces, territories, and under federal jurisdiction, the same principle effectively applies: employees must not be disadvantaged during the statutory notice period. As a result, employers are expected to either maintain benefits or provide equivalent compensation if continuation is not possible (for example, due to insurer limitations). Overall, there is no Canadian jurisdiction where employers can simply stop benefits during statutory notice without providing some form of replacement value.
Check out these resources:
Prior Ask The Expert on this topic
Severance Best Practices
and this section of the Canada Labour Code
I hope this helps.
-HRInsider staff
