Alberta Provincial Government Employees
Are Alberta Provincial Government Employees treated differently?
In 2019 the Alberta Government introduced amendments to the Public Service Act.
These legislative changes effectively capped severance packages for Alberta Government employees.
The relevant section of the legislation reads:
Notwithstanding any right existing at common law, an employee who is terminated without cause is entitled to a period of notice of termination no greater than the following:
- Where the employee has less than one year of continuous service, 2 weeks;
- Where the employee has one or more years of continuous service, 4 weeks for every full year of continuous service up to a maximum of 78 weeks.
These provisions are particularly restrictive for long service employees who would normally be entitled to notice of termination of employment in the range of 24 months.
Pension considerations for Alberta Government employees
One of the key benefits of being an Alberta Government employee is participation in the pension plan.
In some situations, it may be possible to structure a severance package to maximum pensionable years of service.