Northwest Territories: the official figures for 2026
These are all the figures of jurisdictions.northwest_territories in the data file: eight loose figures and five tables with 27 rows, each with the statute it comes from, when it took effect and how far it has been verified.
Updated · Figures verified against the statutes of each jurisdiction · see all figures and their sources · what's new
It is one of the 14 pages of the Jurisdictions block, inside official figures. The raw data is in legal-data-2026.json.
What this block holds
The Northwest Territories figures set what you can count on at the end of a job: notice once you pass 90 days of employment, the ceiling on a temporary layoff, the group notice, vacation pay, the 11 statutory holidays, the final pay clock and the complaint limit. The territory's Act contains no severance pay entitlement. Its notice schedule starts at 2 weeks, not one.
The statute is the Employment Standards Act, S.N.W.T. 2007, c. 13. Section 37 sets the 90-day qualifying period, s. 38 the notice schedule, s. 41 the group notice from 25 employees, s. 42 and s. 43 the temporary layoff and its extension, s. 24 annual vacation, s. 22 the holidays, s. 13 final pay and s. 61 complaints. Most rows are valid From 2008-04-01. The complaint deadline carries a later date, From 2021-07-01, and the holiday count has none.
Nothing on this page is indexed. The weeks, days and percentages stay fixed until the Legislative Assembly amends the Act, as the 2021 date on the complaint row shows. The holiday dates move with the calendar, so Good Friday and Thanksgiving Day shift from year to year.
How to read the table
The vacation table has a row that looks odd at first: from 5 to 6 years, 2 weeks of vacation but 6% pay. At 6 years the time off rises to 3 weeks, still at 6%. The percentage and the weeks are separate columns because they change at different points. Check each column against your service. They don't move together.
In the loose figures, Figure gives the note, Value the number, Source the section and Validity the start date. Status tells you how solid a row is. Verified: confirmed in the text of the Act. Secondary source: computed from official numbers, sums published. Not yet verified: not confirmed, and not used as firm anywhere else. Every row here is Verified. Your own entitlement still depends on your wages, your service and the facts of how the job ended.
Where the site uses these figures
These figures drive the Northwest Territories guide to termination notice and the termination pay calculator with NWT rules. The vacation bands appear in what happens to vacation pay when a job ends, the 45-in-60-day layoff limit in temporary layoffs explained, and the group schedule starting at 25 employees in notice for mass terminations. For benefits, see EI in the Northwest Territories.
Status: Verified = read in the primary source; Secondary source = worked out by us from official figures, arithmetic shown; Not yet verified = not confirmed in the primary source, and so not published as a firm figure on any other page. The detail is in rule three of the methodology.
Northwest Territories jurisdictions.northwest_territories
| Figure | Value | Source | Validity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Act counts 90 days of employment, not three months. How we read it: The Act owes notice once you have been employed "for a period of 90 days or more" and does not say how to count the days. We count every calendar day from your first day to your last day, both included, so a job that ran from April 2 to June 30 is 90 days and earns notice, and one day less does not. If your count lands within a day or two of 90, confirm with the Employment Standards Office. northwest_territories.notice.qualifying_service | 90 days | Employment Standards Act, s. 37 — Termination by notice or pay; exceptions | From 2008-04-01 | Verified Reviewed 2026-10-20 |
The Employment Standards Act contains no severance pay entitlement.northwest_territories.severance.exists | No | Employment Standards Act, S.N.W.T. 2007, c. 13 | From 2008-04-01 | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
Northwest territories · group termination · thresholdnorthwest_territories.group_termination.threshold | 25 employees | Employment Standards Act, s. 41 — Notice to Employment Standards Officer (group termination) | From 2008-04-01 | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
Northwest territories · group termination · windownorthwest_territories.group_termination.window | 4 weeks | Employment Standards Act, s. 41 — Notice to Employment Standards Officer (group termination) | From 2008-04-01 | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
Eleven statutory holidays, one of the longest lists in Canada.northwest_territories.holidays.count | 11 | Employment Standards Act, s. 22 — Holiday with pay (list of statutory holidays) | — | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
Northwest territories · final pay · days after terminationnorthwest_territories.final_pay.days_after_termination | 10 days | Employment Standards Act, s. 13 — Pay periods and payment after termination | From 2008-04-01 | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
Section 13(3) covers any termination of employment, so the same ten days apply when you resign.northwest_territories.final_pay.days_after_quit | 10 days | Employment Standards Act, s. 13 — Pay periods and payment after termination | From 2008-04-01 | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
Twelve months from when the thing you are complaining about happened.northwest_territories.complaint.deadline | 12 months | Employment Standards Act, s. 61 — Employee complaints and limitation period | From 2021-07-01 | Verified Reviewed 2026-09-05 |
| Service from years | Service to years | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| 0.25 years | 3 years | 2 weeks |
| 3 years | 4 years | 3 weeks |
| 4 years | 5 years | 4 weeks |
| 5 years | 6 years | 5 weeks |
| 6 years | 7 years | 6 weeks |
| 7 years | 8 years | 7 weeks |
| 8 years | — | 8 weeks |
Source: Employment Standards Act, s. 38 — Period of notice. Reviewed on September 5, 2026.
| Label | Max value | Max unit | Window value | Window unit | Condition | Source | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic limit | 45 | days | 60 | days | — | nt_esa_s42 | Subject to section 43, a temporary layoff must not exceed 45 days during a period of 60 consecutive days. |
| Extension ordered by an Employment Standards Officer | — | — | — | — | The Employment Standards Officer can order a longer layoff where special circumstances justify it and you will be recalled. | nt_esa_s43 | The Employment Standards Officer may, by order, extend a temporary layoff to a period exceeding 45 days if he or she is satisfied that (a) special circumstances justify the extension; and (b) the employee will be recalled. |
Source: Employment Standards Act, s. 42 — Temporary layoff. Reviewed on September 5, 2026.
| Employees from | Employees to | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | 49 | 4 weeks |
| 50 | 99 | 8 weeks |
| 100 | 299 | 12 weeks |
| 300 | — | 16 weeks |
Source: Employment Standards Act, s. 41 — Notice to Employment Standards Officer (group termination). Reviewed on September 5, 2026.
| Service from years | Service to years | Weeks | Pay percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 years | 5 years | 2 weeks | 4% |
| 5 years | 6 years | 2 weeks | 6% |
| 6 years | — | 3 weeks | 6% |
Source: Employment Standards Act, s. 24 — Annual vacation. Reviewed on September 5, 2026.
| Name | Date rule |
|---|---|
| New Year's Day | January 1 |
| Good Friday | Friday before Easter Sunday |
| Victoria Day | Monday before May 25 |
| National Indigenous Peoples Day | June 21 |
| Canada Day | July 1 |
| First Monday in August | First Monday in August |
| Labour Day | First Monday in September |
| National Day for Truth and Reconciliation | September 30 |
| Thanksgiving Day | Second Monday in October |
| Remembrance Day | November 11 |
| Christmas Day | December 25 |
Source: Employment Standards Act, s. 22 — Holiday with pay (list of statutory holidays). Reviewed on September 5, 2026.