Canada

Learn about labor and talent compliance norms in Canada with this quick guide.

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Overview

Canada is a highly developed country with high ranking in the human development index among the world countries. It has a mixed-market economy and is the 8th largest economy as of 2022.

Major economic hubs:

Toronto, Ottawa, British Columbia, Brampton

Skills in demand:

Web Developer, Software Engineers, Human Resource, Customer Service, Sales

Employing in Canada

To nurture harmonious labor relations beneficial to employers, employees and the economy, numerous measures have been taken up by the labor program, some of which are collective bargaining, dispute prevention, and arbitration appointments.

Employee Contract

The language of employment contract in Canada can be English or French. An exception is the Quebec province, which makes it necessary to have the contract particularly in French.

Probation Period

The usual probationary period followed in Canada is from one to six months.

General Components of  Salary Package in Canada

Salaries are one way companies recognize and reward their employees for working hard. Salaries may include both monetary benefits like pay rates, bonuses or profit sharing agreements as well as non-monetary rewards such as health care plans with no deductibles that come straight out of your paycheck every month.The general components of remuneration in Canada include –

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Public and Provincial Holidays

Employee Leaves

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Taxes

Resident Tax Information

Residents of Canada have an additional tax burden when it comes to their worldwide income. Canadian law provides relief from this through various international agreements and credits which can be applied against the individual's total taxes owed.

Non-resident individuals and temporary residents of Canada are taxed on their income in  Canada.  

Below are the federal income taxes for employees in Canada –

Social Security

Social security in Canada provides the following benefits:

Retirement benefits

An individual can avail retirement benefits in Canada from the ages

65 years for women employees

67 years for male employees

A reduced age of 62 years is available for certain individuals.

Disability benefits

Employees with a temporary or a permanent disability due to accidents at work are eligible  for disability benefits. With certain exceptions, dependents are also eligible for disability  

benefits.

Survivor benefits

In cases of death due to accidents at work, the surviving spouse or minor children are  

eligible for survivor's benefit.

The employee and employer social security contributions are as below –

Statutory Benefits

Statutory benefits that employers must provide to the employees include –

  • Parental Leave
  • Pension
  • Paid time off and legislated leaves
  • Employment insurance  
  • Eye examinations

Fringe Benefits

Fringe benefits are commonly provided to employees in Canada as a part of an employee’s  compensation package. The most commonly provided fringe benefits in Canada include –

  • Voluntary retirement benefits
  • Supplementary healthcare benefits that includeÉ
  • Hospital expenseÅ
  • Paramedical practitioners'Ë
  • Drug coverage

Exempt Benefits

Exempt benefits in Canada include –

  • Subsidized meals at canteen/meal vouchers
  • Pension benefits
  • Office internet allowances
  • Health benefit account
  • Group life and disability insurance plans

Long-term Incentives

The long-term incentive plan is a type of compensation that can be in the form or cash and stock options. The most common ones include employee's stocks, which gives them an opportunity to sell their company shares at certain prices over time

Most commonly stock options offered to employees in Canada include –

  • Stock appreciation rights
  • Restricted stock grants  
  • Phantom stocks
  • Non-qualified stock options
  • Employee stock purchasing plans

Termination/Severance in Canada

Termination Process

The Canada Labor Code explains the procedure to follow while terminating the employment of an individual employee or a group termination involving 50 or more employees from a single industrial establishment who are dismissed simultaneously within four weeks.

If an employee believes the dismissal as unjust, they can file a complaint alleging unjust dismissal within 90 days, from the dismissal date.

Notice Period

The notice period for employees on probation and permanent employees is between one to twelve weeks.

Severance Pay

Employees have the right to collect severance pay if they complete continuous employment of at least 12 consecutive months before their layoff or dismissal.

They are entitled to two days of regular wages for each full year that they worked for the employer before their termination from the employment. The minimum benefit is five days' wages.

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