Canada
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- Capital City
Ottawa
- Currency
Canadian dollar ($, CAD)
- Languages
English and French
- Population size
37,589,262
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.