BlindHope… in Canada, the laws vary by province – I know a little about the regulation in Ontario where the Employment Standards Act stipulates that employers either provide a minimum notice for layoffs or provide payment in lieu of notice.
Specifically, termination pay and severance pay can be provided – while termination pay is meant to allow an individual to find another position, severance pay acts as compensation for time served. An employee is entitled to one week of termination pay per year of service (for up to 8 weeks I think), and for employers with more than $2.5M in payroll or in case of mass layoffs, one week of severance pay per year of service (for up to 25 weeks I think).
Also, it’s worthwhile mentioning here that individual employment contracts may require higher payouts, so individuals should refer back to their employment contracts for more information. That being said, the minimums mentioned above cannot be contracted out.