The legislated minimum employment standards imposed on employers are relatively consistent across Canada. However, there are some significant differences in
Canadian employment legislation generally applies to employees who work in Canada even if the employer is outside Canada. The level of government having jurisdiction over employment and labour matters is determined by the nature of the employer’s business. Most employees are under provincial jurisdiction, but federal legislation governs employees of federally regulated undertakings such as telecommunications, railways, banking and certain interprovincial enterprises. Although federally regulated undertakings are subject to federal laws such as the Canada Labour Code , they may also be subject to certain provincial laws related to matters such as workers’ compensation. Minimum Standards Each province has employment standards legislation setting out minimum entitlements for employees. Similar standards are provided by the Canada Labour Code for employees under federal jurisdiction. The main areas covered by this legislation include minimum wages, overtime, hours of work, vacation and holidays, pregnancy and/or parental and other leaves of absence, mass layoffs and notices of termination. Employment standards legislation applies to most employees, but most statutes provide specific exemptions from certain requirements for different categories of employees (e.g., senior managerial personnel and commissioned travelling salespersons). In general, the standards imposed are relatively consistent across Canada. However, there are some significant differences between jurisdictions, not only in the standards required, but also in other matters, such as the remedies available to employees. For example, in Ontario, an employer can only be ordered to reinstate a terminated employee in limited circumstances (e.g., if the employer has improperly terminated an employee because she has taken pregnancy leave),
employees’ entitlements between jurisdictions.
whereas the Canada Labour Code and Québec legislation give employees potentially much broader rights to seek reinstatement.
The legislated minimum standards cannot be contracted out of or waived by employees. Terms more favourable to employees than the minimum standards may be agreed upon in an individual employment contract or offer letter, or, in the case of unionized employees, a collective agreement. The agreed terms of employment will typically be more generous to employees, at least in certain respects, than the statutory minimum standards. In addition, non-statutory legal principles may also impose additional obligations on employers, particularly in connection with the termination of employees (see “Termination of Employees” below).
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Doing Business in Canada
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