HR

Subscribe to HR
No At-Will Employment in Canada

Are you an employer with operations in both Canada & the US? This post is for you.

Contracts vs At-Will Employment

For our US readers, Canada does not have at-will employment. In Canada, employment relationships are governed by employment contracts, either written or implied, and various employment laws and regulations. Employers are generally required to provide reasonable notice or pay in lieu of notice when terminating an employee without cause.

For our Canadian readers, at-will employment is a term used in the United States to describe the employment relationship between an employer and an employee, where either party can terminate the employment at any time, with or without cause, and with or without notice. This means that an employer can fire an employee for any reason or no reason at all, as long as it is not for an illegal reason (such as discrimination). Similarly, an employee can quit their job at any time without providing a reason or notice.…

Continue Reading No At-Will Employment in Canada

Employee Productivity Issues: How to Manage Time Theft

When the vast majority of the Canadian workforce suddenly transitioned to working from home in 2020, managers were concerned about employee productivity. Most employees believed remote work increased productivity, while managers believed the opposite. The debate continues. Candidly, I am on the “increased productivity” side of the debate: working remotely allows me to focus without interruption and bring my full energy to my work by avoiding a soul-sucking commute. However, managers’ concerns about productivity are not always misplaced. Employees who do not put in the hours required by their contract are engaging in time theft, which is typically cause for discipline and, in particularly egregious circumstances, termination for cause. …

Continue Reading How to Manage Employee Productivity Issues and Time Theft

An Employer’s Guide to Managing Employees with Progressive Discipline

If you’re an employer, you know that, whether you have 10 employees or 100, there is an art to managing your workforce and a well-oiled human resource process is necessary for a well-run business. You invest a lot of time and money into your employees and, understandably, expect attendance, productivity, and proper work conduct in return that will benefit your business as a whole. 

If you have employees who aren’t meeting the expectations of their role, it’s important not to have a knee-jerk reaction. Instead, progressive discipline gives both the employer and employee the opportunity to get on the same page and provides the employee with a roadmap for improvement.…

Continue Reading An Employer’s Guide to Managing Employees with Progressive Discipline