Canada is the second largest country in the world by land mass, but its entire population is equivalent to the single US state of California. With 17.2 million people working across 10 provinces and three territories, much of the employment law falls under regional jurisdictions. Here’s a comprehensive overview of the nation’s labour laws, exploring […]

When running a small business it is important that you are aware of all the documentation that you and your employees need. Forms like Record of Employment (ROE) is mandatory for all workers in Canada. Learn more about ROE, and how and when you’re supposed to file one. What is a Record of Employment (ROE)? […]

Are you a Canadian employer in search of an app to track employee hours? If so, many apps can help you track employee hours and pay your workers accordingly. One of these apps, QuickBooks Online, can sync with many other time-tracking apps for easy integration with your current systems. Luckily, QuickBooks makes it simple to […]

Learn how to hire your first employee, how to prepare and hire the best candidate. Here is what you need to do before you complete the record of employment. Your new small business is booming, and it is getting harder and harder to manage your workload alone. Are you ready to make the leap from […]

TGIF. Now there’s a “four-letter word” that sparks joy across Canada.  Unfortunately, when you own your own small business, Fridays are all too often just another day. After all, weekends usually mean more work. How can you transform your Fridays from humdrum to heavenly? Here are eight ways Fridays can spark joy even if you’re […]

As a small business owner, you know one thing for sure: productivity equals profits. The more you do, the more you earn. But how do you increase productivity when your time is limited? The answer is simple — improve your time management. When you find ways to work efficiently, productivity increases, and profits skyrocket. What […]

Ah, that dreaded aspect of employment – the timesheet. You might be met with some groans of disapproval from your construction team when you announce their implementation – especially if you’ve never used timesheets in the past. But timesheets can be a useful addition to your construction business for several reasons. Timesheets today aren’t the […]

You’re the head of your company, but you’re on equal footing with your employees when it comes to the number of hours you have in each day. No matter who you are, you get only 24 hours. How you and your employees spend and manage time can make the difference in whether you meet your […]

Time management isn’t merely an art – it’s an entire artistic discipline. Being a manager is tough – no argument there! Sometimes, during a normal day, little fires spark up that inevitably change the entire trajectory of your team’s work. Learning how to prioritize your needs, the needs of your team members, and those of […]

Did you know that employees who work remotely can be a great bonus to small business owners? They’re often more productive, partly because they don’t have to deal with the time and money drain of battling a daily commute. Home-based workers reduce your overhead as they don’t need work space in your office. Another huge […]

Hiring staff to work in your small business marks an exciting time of growth, and it also comes with extra responsibilities, such as completing paperwork and paying taxes. One of the first things you need to do when you hire is determine how to classify each worker as either self-employed or employee. Properly categorizing workers […]

Learn about the Government of Canada’s proposed Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program, and find out how it promises to help Indigenous Peoples and businesses around the country. Discover benefits for workers, women, and individual companies.

Study the rules covering Canada’s statutory holidays, and make sure your small business stays within the law. Rules vary by jurisdiction and by the type of work your employees do, so it’s a good idea to stay abreast of the rules that apply in your industry and province.

Offer your employees a buyout option to avoid downsizing and large-scale layoffs. An employee buyout offer helps you save money on operating costs, and it allows your employees to stay financially stable while looking for other employment opportunities.

Incentivize new and current hourly-wage employees with banked overtime instead of pure overtime pay. Learn what banked overtime is, see how to calculate it, and learn what’s required as a business owner.

Learn about the requirements of the Canadian government for hiring temporary foreign workers, what a labour market opinion is, and how an employer and a temporary foreign worker obtain these documents.

Understand the benefits and costs of using bonuses and raises to supplement your small business’s employee compensation packages, and learn how to balance them to keep morale high and turnover low.

Address the situation immediately if your new hire doesn’t fit into the company culture. Working the the new employee and your current staff to remove barriers and work through the situation can relieve the tension that occurs.

Offer a tuition reimbursement program to your employees to improve retention and attract new job candidates. You get a return on your investment with financial savings of keeping employees and the knowledge gain that may help improve your business.

Explore the financial incentives related to being a nurse in a remote Northern location. Find out what the government offers for nursing in the Far North, and review the pros and cons of working in these areas.

Discover if allowing your employees to wear business casual office attire is the right approach for your business by analyzing these five benefits associated with a more lenient dress code.

Handle reference requests from fired employees with care. You want to help the fired employee get a new job, but beware about referring those fired for cause to other employers.

Encourage your employees to be more punctual by implementing an attendance policy that employee incentives and rewards. Learn how to reduce absenteeism using positive reinforcement.

Reduce turnover rates, boost morale, and increase productivity by offering your employees perks and benefits such as free lunches. Learn why so many Canadian businesses are choosing to provide free meals for their employees.

For any small business, company or nonprofit organization, the hiring of new employees is an important step in enabling the company to profit and expand. The key for any business owner or manager is to ensure the most appropriate and qualified candidates are considered and ultimately hired. Though recommendations, cover letters and resumes are all […]

Set goals with your employees to keep them on track and provide yourself an objective way to measure their performance. When your employees have performance goals they can work towards, it makes them more engaged and motivated to succeed. For the best results, you need to strike a balance between allowing your employees freedom regarding […]

Terminating employment is a difficult process for everyone involved, and one way to potentially make this process easier on an employee is by offering severance pay, which is simply a payment an employee receives for losing his job. Before you decide whether to offer severance pay, you need to know what you’re legally required to […]

Understand the key elements of a strong human resource information system (HRIS), and learn how a good HRIS can benefit your small business.

Read about the Record of Employment, and figure out when you need to issue this form to employees who are leaving the company or taking a leave of absence.

Want to put your chef on a salary? That may be possible. Check out Canadian labour laws related to managers, salaries, overtime pay, and holiday rates.

Boost company morale and create a unified vision by hosting a corporate retreat for your staff. Employees return refreshed and primed for change.

Learn some of the best team building activities to boost your team’s morale. You can organize quick and easy team building to get your team on the same page.

Learn the rules that apply to hiring temporary workers and especially those that relate to foreign employees.

Have you considered using employee bonuses in your small business? issuing your staff with incentives may bring these four benefits.

Learn how you can use the Hawthorne effect to manage your employees and increase overall productivity.

Review this list of illegal interview questions. Read tips on alternative questions to ask, and learn why certain questions are off-limits.

Canada embraces diversity, and it backs up that stance with legislation. Citizens are protected from discrimination in matters of employment and the provision of accommodation and public services. Federal laws fall under the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Employment Equity Act. Human rights are also defended at the provincial level by agencies, such as […]

Hiring a foreign employee can be daunting the first time, but with the right advice, you can easily navigate the process. There are several common pitfalls you need to be aware of along the way. 1. Not Scheduling Enough Time Hiring foreign workers can take longer than hiring Canadian workers, and it is important to […]

Running criminal background checks on prospective hires protects your company from bringing someone on board who might pose a security risk to your organization. It is important to strike a balance between protecting your company and protecting the candidate in question. The Canadian Human Rights Code makes it illegal to use criminal background checks on […]

Consider the customer service responsibilities of your minimum-wage employees and how your company could benefit from increasing their pay.

Find out when, as an employer, you need to prepare a T4 slip for your employees, and understand the meaning of remuneration.

For many university students and newly graduated young adults, participating in unpaid internships provides necessary practical experience and opens the door to future positions, either within the same company or within a specific industry. The employment and labour laws in Canada vary significantly from one province to the next, so the legality of an unpaid […]

As a freelancer, you may occasionally need help completing a project for a client. In these cases, you may want to turn to a subcontractor. Essentially, a subcontractor is a contractor who is working for another contractor. If you’re thinking about hiring a subcontractor, you should understand the process as well as the legalities. Managing […]

When calculating the cost of a new hire, it’s important to note wages are merely the base cost of hiring an employee. As an employer, you also have to make Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions, employment insurance premiums, and other expenses. Some analysts estimate you should account for 1.2 to 1.4 times your employee’s salary when calculating […]

A business is nothing without its people. Since your employees represent your business, if they’re not happy, it’s likely that your customers won’t be happy, either. Keeping your employees happy is imperative to your business, as they can take your business further and save you money. Improved Productivity Financial compensation alone isn’t enough to make […]

There may be some adjustments before a new supervisor is fully accepted by the workforce, but choosing someone with the right skill set can make the adjustment seamless. A supervisor who is fair, knowledgeable and approachable quickly earns respect and gains the esteem of team members. A confident supervisor with good people skills keeps the […]

Behind every successful business, high performance team, and high employee morale record, there is a successful manager. The happiness of employees (and ultimately their performance) is often highly dependent on the relationship they have with their direct manager/supervisor. In the book “First Break All the Rules: What The Worlds’ Greatest Managers Do Differently”, by Marcus […]

As lawyers, we encourage our clients to have written agreements in order to avoid misunderstandings and disagreements regarding what the parties intend. This is especially important when small businesses are building their teams and hiring new staff. A well-written employment contract will help avoid misunderstandings and disagreements regarding what is expected of both the employer […]