Remote’s guide to employing in

Canada
canada flag

Make employment in Canada easy. Let us handle payroll, benefits, taxes, compliance, and even stock options for your team in Canada, all in one easy-to-use platform.

Services available in this country:
Employer of Record ProductContractor ManagementPayroll
  • Capital City

    Ottawa

  • Currency

    Canadian dollar ($, CAD)

  • Languages

    English and French

  • Population size

    37,589,262

Services available in this country:
Employer of Record ProductContractor ManagementPayroll
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Employment termination in Canada

Termination process

Canadian laws encourage employers to work with employees who are underperforming instead of defaulting to termination. In cases where termination is unavoidable, though, employees in Canada retain a few protections. Canada does not practice at-will employment and legislation varies across provinces and territories with local laws. For instance, Quebec has special protections in place regarding employee terminations for employees with more than two years of service.

It is also common in Canada to include a termination clause in contracts to establish and govern the rights and obligations.

Notice period

Employees are usually entitled to notice (or pay in lieu of notice) when being terminated. Notice periods vary based on age, tenure, the character of the employment, and the availability of similar employment. The application and length of notice period differ across provinces.

Probation periods

Probationary periods are common in Canada and typically last around three months. Some provinces enforce mandatory probationary periods to provide employers with some protection, even when the probationary period is not specified in the employment agreement.