BardalFactors.com

The gold standard of Canadian severance data

Discover how much common law notice Canadian courts have actually awarded similar employees in past situations — powered by a database of 3,200+ reported decisions from 1955 to 2026.

Jurisdiction

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How it works

Reasonable notice has no formula. Courts are guided by the Bardal factors, and the answer to how much common law notice a given employee may be entitled to therefore lives scattered across thousands of decisions. The result is that negotiations often begin with the two sides far apart, each relying on a different reading of the case law.

The Index replaces that with a common reference point.

Enter four factors: age, length of service, occupation, jurisdiction. The Index will then identify the most similar past cases and the range of notice awarded across them.

Limits. The Index reports historical outcomes. It does not predict results, and it cannot account for inducement, manner of dismissal, mitigation, or the availability of comparable employment — any of which can move an award well outside the range shown. It is not legal advice and creates no lawyer-client relationship.

Who’s it for

Lawyers for both employees and employers, HR professionals, and employees trying to make sense of a severance offer.

It’s free to use, and provides the same answers regardless of who’s asking.

Is this a severance calculator

No. Most severance calculators online are built by law firms to attract clients. They ask a few questions, show you a number, and never tell you where it came from. The Bardal Index does the opposite.

The Bardal Index
Severance calculators
Based on case lawEvery number is rooted in real case law that is hyperlinked and reviewable.
An undisclosed formulaYou get a number with no supporting cases, no sources, and no way to verify its accuracy.
Objective and unbiasedIt has no client to win and no side to favour. It reports what the courts did.
A marketing toolUsually a lead generation tool in disguise, run by a firm that wants your case.
Consistent resultsOne published method. The same facts always return the same range.
A different answer each timePut identical facts into three calculators and get three different results.
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The Bardal Index
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Range of notice awarded in comparable cases

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Closest comparable cases

90%80%60% Similarity scored against your four inputted factors — age, years of service, type of role, and province.

Similarity
ScoreCaseAward
92%
Accuracy. Tested against all 3,235 decisions, each measured against the others and never itself: the Index lands within 6 months of the actual award 92% of the time, within 3 months 73% of the time, and within 2 months in 50% of all cases. The award falls inside the stated range about three times in five.

Range is the interquartile range of the 50 closest comparable awards, selected under the published comparator method (v3). Reports what courts have awarded; not a prediction and not legal advice. Does not account for inducement, manner of dismissal, mitigation, or availability of comparable employment.