The employer must give notice to the Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale before making a collective dismissal. This notice must also be sent to the Commission des normes du travail, the employees and the accredited association that represents them, if there is one (see section 84.0.6 ALS).

The dismissal contemplated by these provisions is that made for reasons of a technological or economic nature.

Length of notice

The notice must respect the following minimum periods:
10 to 99 employees affected by the dismissal  - notice of 8 weeks;
100 to 299 employees affected by the dismissal  - notice of 12 weeks;
300 employees or more affected by the dismissal  - notice of 16 weeks.

Notice of termination of employment of section 82 ALS

Within the context of a collective dismissal, the length of notice depends on the number of employees contemplated by the dismissal, whereas the length of the notice of termination of employment of section 82 ALS is based on the period of uninterrupted service specific to each employee. That explains why even if the employer has given the notice of collective dismissal, he is not exempted from having to give the notice stipulated in section 82 ALS (or failing that paying the compensatory indemnity of section 83 ALS), as the length of the notice may be different according to the two provisions. The two indemnities are, however, not cumulative and the employee will receive the greater of the two (see the interpretation of section 84.0.14 ALS).

Penalty

If no notice is given, the employer is liable to a fine of $1,500 per week (see the interpretation of section 141.1 ALS).