Use a general release of claims when there's a chance someone has a legal claim against you for something that happened and they're agreeing to waive or settle that claim.

Use this release for letting someone go "without cause", which means the employer does not have enough cause to let the person go without notice or compensation.

To make sure your release of claims refers to the right contract, we need to know the date it was signed. If you're not entirely sure of the exact date, just pick a date that you think is close to the date the contract was signed.

Legal documents of any kind are controlled by the laws of Canada and the specific laws of the province or territory connected to the legal matter. Many times, that's the laws of the province or territory where you're doing business. Choose the province or territory that is most applicable to your legal matter. 

For example, you can say "the first payment is due on signing and the balance 6 months later."

If an employee is not being fired "for cause" (for example, something very serious like stealing from the employer), they are entitled to one of two things under employment law.

The employer can give the employee notice that their job will end on a certain date. The time period has to be reasonable and is meant to give the employee enough time to prepare for the loss of employment and to find a new job.

The second option the employer has is to pay a severance amount equal to what the employee would have made during the notice period. That amount is commonly called "severance pay". 

Since the employment is ending with notice rather than severance pay, this is the day that the employee gets notice that their job will end on a certain date in the future. The period from this day to the employee's last day will be the notice period for the termination. 

It's common for employers to continue benefits coverage for a short while after terminating an employee (e.g. 3 months). Extending the benefits for a while past the termination date can help to reduce the employer's liability and also gives some relief to the employee while they look for a new job.