In this article we will take a general look at some important things that every Canadian employer must remember.

1. Employment contracts. A contract is an important document that regulates everything between you and your employee, be sure to have a good contract that is based on the latest labour laws. A good contract includes everything from all the important things like trade secrets to holydays and working hours. The better the contract, the less time you will spend in courts.

2. Discrimination. An employer can not hire or fire employees on the basis of sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or equivalent belief, or age. Discrimination can not only lead to lawsuits from the employees, but can also create a bad image of your company. Of course this has nothing to do with hiring people who are below or above the legal working age.

3. Harassment. Most of the people are used that the word harassment comes together with the word sexual, but it is not true. There are different types of harassment ant they can come from anywhere, not just from bosses or fellow workers, but also from customers and even suppliers. A good employer must ensure that the worker has no verbal or physical abuse on his working place. If not you can have a difficult lawsuit that will most probably have a bad ending for you. The number of harassment lawsuits in the last years is rapidly growing and at least one of them even resulted in a jail sentence.

4. Changing the terms of Employment. Modern business is a very fast changing thing and it needs fast solutions and changes. Some Employers think that they can change the terms of employment just after a prior notice, but that’s not true. Every change in terms must be made by a negotiated agreement, except if the contract allows making such changes or the changes lie outside the contract. Be sure to remember this point in the contract, because any illegal changes in the employment contract will lead to lawsuits against you.

5. Consulting. While the first employment contracts wire simple and had nothing about discrimination or human rights, today we have huge employment laws that regulate all the possible things concerning employment. It is a normal thing for a truly democratic society, but an ordinary employer will need month to understand all the details of the employment law. So don’t be afraid to contact some labour law specialists firm in case you need to understand some parts of the law or need a consultation for a trial.

6. The five things that were presented above were written based on the general Canada Labour Code and it works only for about 10% of all the Canadian workers. The rest of them is covered by provinces labour laws, so be sure to check out your local laws concerning employment. The can be fairly different in British Columbia and Quebec.




By: Rebecca Brown