The territorial government has paid more than $25 million in severance to about 560 employees over the past five years. Some of those employees include staff who quit or were laid off but the GNWT won't say how many.
"Different types of severance payments are not tracked separately," said Toyeke Adedipe, a senior communications officer with the Department of Finance. What she could break down, however, are the total amounts of severance paid out annually and total number of employees who received it per year:
| Fiscal Year | Total Severance Amount | Employees Receiving Severance |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $7,741,877 | 144 |
| 2021 | $5,461,453 | 107 |
| 2022 | $5,161,979 | 122 |
| 2023 | $4,631,086 | 105 |
| 2024 | $4,536,631 | 84 |
The GNWT's policy states that an , so long as they are excluded employees -- employees who are not members of the Union of Northern Workers (UNW) or NWT Teachers' Association -- or unionized employees who began working for the GNWT prior to Sept. 2, 1995.
According to the 2023 excluded employees handbook, non-unionized GNWT staff are entitled to severance pay if they resign.
Beau Stobbs, communications officer for the Department of Finance, told SA国际影视传媒 on May 22 that the information contained in the handbook and the collective agreement with the UNW about severance has not changed.
Apart from being excluded, these employees need to have 10 or more years of continuous employment. They also need to give two months notice of termination SA国际影视传媒� or a shorter period their employer can agree on,
Also of note, the GNWT will pay severance to employees if they are laid off after one year or more of continued employment.
SA国际影视传媒 reached out to the Union of Northern Workers for comment on whether it believes the collective agreement should be revisited so that more recently unionized workers might be eligible for severance when resigning in the future but did not hear back in time for publication.
In general, resignations within the GNWT appear to be a growing trend over the past five years. In the 2023-24 fiscal year, 59 per cent of all government employee exits were resignations. In the 2019-20 fiscal year, it was 51 per cent, according to the territorySA国际影视传媒檚 public service
GNWT employees make up about a quarter of the territorySA国际影视传媒檚 workforce, at about 6,000 people, according to Budget 2025.
Asked why the territorial government will pay people when they resign, an unnamed official with the Department of Finance answered that severance payments, particularly when based on length of service, are a tool employers use to foster connection and loyalty between the employer and employee and contribute to retention.
