NEWS REFERENCE
According to a report by CBC News, published on April 27, 2026, Rogers Communications Inc. has confirmed it is offering voluntary buyouts to approximately 10,000 eligible employees. The company cited the need to “adjust its cost structure to reflect the business realities of the current environment.” Rogers, which employs roughly 25,000 workers, is cutting capital spending by 30 per cent compared to last year. The buyouts are being offered across business units and corporate functions, though on-air talent, Sportsnet employees, Toronto Blue Jays staff, and unionized workers are excluded.
What Rogers Is Saying — And What It Means For You Legally
Rogers has framed this as a “voluntary departure and retirement program” — language that sounds generous and employee-friendly. But before you read the word voluntary and assume you are in a position of power, it is important to understand what that word actually means in a legal context, and what it does not.
A voluntary buyout is still a separation from employment. Once you accept it and sign the accompanying release, you are giving up your right to make any further legal claims against Rogers — including claims for greater severance pay under Ontario’s common law. The fact that you were not formally fired does not reduce what you may be legally entitled to receive.
Rogers is a company carrying significant debt following its $26-billion acquisition of Shaw Communications in 2023. Its own chief financial officer acknowledged on an investor call that restructuring costs are expected. Employees are, as one analyst bluntly told CBC News, “the biggest expense.” That context matters — it tells you this program is being driven by financial pressure, not generosity.
What You Are Legally Entitled To As A Rogers Employee In Ontario
Whether you accept a voluntary buyout or are eventually laid off, your legal entitlements in Ontario are the same. Being offered a choice does not reduce what you are owed. Here is the full picture:
ESA termination pay
Under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000, you are entitled to a minimum of one week of notice — or pay in lieu — for each year of service, up to a maximum of eight weeks. This is the absolute legal floor. For a Rogers employee who has been with the company for five, ten, or fifteen years, even the minimum statutory amount is a meaningful sum — but in most cases, it is far from the full picture.
ESA severance pay
Rogers Communications is one of Canada’s largest corporations, with a payroll that vastly exceeds the $2.5 million ESA threshold. That means if you have been employed for five or more years, you are entitled to an additional one week’s pay per year of service — up to a maximum of 26 weeks. This is separate from, and on top of, your termination notice entitlement. These two amounts are not the same thing, and they do not cancel each other out.
Common law reasonable notice — often far more
The ESA sets the minimum, not the ceiling. Ontario courts have consistently awarded employees significantly more than statutory minimums under the common law, based on factors including your age, your length of service, the seniority and specialized nature of your role, and the difficulty of finding comparable work in the current market. For a long-service Rogers employee in a senior or technical position, common law reasonable notice could amount to 12, 18, or even 24 months of total compensation — many times what the ESA alone would provide.
Stock, bonuses, and incentive entitlements
If you participate in any bonus program, profit-sharing arrangement, or incentive plan, those entitlements do not disappear upon termination. If a bonus was near-earned at the time your employment ends, courts have held that employees are entitled to a pro-rated portion. Review your compensation structure carefully — this is one of the most commonly overlooked components of a severance claim.
Vacation pay
Any vacation time you have earned but not yet taken must be paid out in full in your final paycheque. This sounds straightforward, but final pay calculations frequently fall short in this area. Check your records against what you receive.
Benefits continuation
During any working notice period, your employer is required to continue your benefits — including health, dental, and life insurance. If you are given pay in lieu of notice rather than working notice, the value of those benefits during the notice period should be factored into your package.
The Word "Voluntary" — What It Really Means For You
This is the most important section of this article, and it is one that most employees gloss over.
Rogers calling this a “voluntary” program does not mean accepting it is always the right choice, and it does not mean declining it is risk-free either. Here is what you need to think through before you decide anything.
If you accept the buyout, you will almost certainly be asked to sign a full and final release. That document ends your legal relationship with Rogers and bars you from claiming anything further — including any common law entitlement that exceeds what the buyout package offers. If the package is fair and reflects your true legal entitlement, accepting may be the right decision. If it does not, you may be signing away significant money.
If you decline the buyout, Rogers may eventually restructure your role or eliminate your position anyway — at which point your entitlements would be assessed in the same way. Declining now does not guarantee job security.
The decision is genuinely personal and depends on your role, your tenure, your compensation structure, and the specific terms of the offer. But it should never be made without first understanding what you are actually owed.
A note on pressure and deadlines: Voluntary buyout programs almost always come with an expiry date. Rogers may give you two weeks, three weeks, or a month to decide. That deadline is real — but it is not a reason to panic and sign without advice. You are entitled to use every day of that window, and you should.
How Much Could You Actually Be Owed? A Practical Example
Consider Sandra — a 52-year-old senior network operations manager who has worked at Rogers for 14 years. Her base salary is $130,000 per year and she receives an annual performance bonus of approximately $18,000.
Rogers’ buyout package offers her 14 weeks of pay — one week per year of service, which meets the ESA termination notice requirement. They also offer her 14 weeks of severance pay under the ESA. Total offer: 28 weeks, or roughly $75,000 before tax.
On the surface, that looks reasonable. But Sandra’s lawyer assesses her common law entitlement at 16 to 20 months, based on her age, seniority, length of service, and the difficulty of finding a comparable role in the telecom sector. Her true entitlement — including pro-rated bonus — could be worth between $230,000 and $290,000.
She nearly signed the first offer on day three.
Steps To Take Right Now
This is the single most important step. Rogers’ buyout offer will include a release. Once signed, it is final. Take the full time you are given, and do not let urgency — real or perceived — push you into signing before you are ready.
Look specifically for the release clause, any non-disparagement obligations, whether benefits continuation is included, how bonus and incentive compensation is treated, and whether there are any conditions attached to receiving the payment. If any of it is unclear, that is exactly what a lawyer is for.
Your entitlement is not just weeks of base salary. It includes your bonus, the value of benefits during the notice period, accrued vacation, any incentive compensation, and — most importantly — your common law reasonable notice entitlement, which is assessed individually based on your specific circumstances.
A consultation with an employment lawyer will tell you whether Rogers’ offer reflects your true entitlement, what the realistic range of a better settlement looks like, and whether it is worth negotiating. In most cases, the cost of that advice is recovered many times over in an improved outcome.
If you decide to push back on the offer, do so calmly and in writing. Acknowledge the offer, state what you believe your entitlement to be and why, and express a preference for resolving the matter fairly without litigation. Employers — especially large ones like Rogers — negotiate regularly and respond far better to professionalism than confrontation.
Even if you are negotiating, you can apply for EI at Service Canada right away. Do not wait until the severance matter is resolved. Delays in applying affect your total entitlement, and the process takes time regardless.
If Rogers is terminating 50 or more employees at a single establishment within a four-week period — which, given the scale of this program, is entirely possible — Ontario’s mass termination provisions under Part XV of the ESA are triggered. These require enhanced notice periods of up to 16 weeks, on top of individual entitlements. If those obligations are not met, additional claims may be available to you.
The bottom line: Rogers has framed this as a choice. Legally, that framing does not reduce what you are owed — it just means you have a window to make a decision, rather than having one made for you. Use that window wisely.
Get the offer in writing. Understand your full entitlement. Talk to a lawyer. And do not sign anything until you are confident the number in front of you reflects what you actually deserve — not just what Rogers has chosen to offer.
