🇨🇦 Canada · Employment & Labor
Hiring rules, employment contracts, payroll, social insurance, and EOR options.
Quick answer
Canadian employment standards are mostly provincial — each province sets minimum wage, hours, vacation and termination notice (federal rules cover federally-regulated sectors). Human-rights codes ban discrimination, and most terminations require notice or pay in lieu; disputes go to the provincial employment-standards body or labour board.
Most employment standards are set provincially; federally-regulated sectors follow the Canada Labour Code. Employment and Social Development Canada oversees the federal framework.
- Minimum wage, hours and leave are mostly governed by each province or territory.
- Federally-regulated industries (e.g. banking, telecom, interprovincial transport) follow the Canada Labour Code.
- Employers register for payroll deductions through the CRA.
Step-by-step
- 1
Confirm which rules apply
Check whether your job is provincially or federally regulated; most employees fall under their province's employment standards act.
- 2
Get your terms in writing
Get the pay, role, hours and any termination terms in writing; a clear contract can set notice within legal limits.
- 3
Know your pay and hours rights
Confirm the applicable provincial minimum wage, overtime after the daily/weekly threshold, and statutory holiday pay.
- 4
Understand leave and vacation
You are entitled to minimum paid vacation (typically two to three weeks) plus job-protected leaves (sick, parental) under provincial law.
- 5
Sort tax and deductions
Your employer deducts income tax, CPP and EI; provide your SIN and complete the TD1 forms.
- 6
Know termination and dispute routes
Most terminations require statutory notice or pay in lieu (plus possible common-law reasonable notice); raise issues with the provincial employment-standards branch or labour board.
Checklist
- Provincial vs federal regulation confirmed
- Written terms (pay, hours, termination)
- Provincial minimum wage + overtime + holiday pay
- Minimum paid vacation + job-protected leaves
- SIN + TD1 + CPP/EI deductions
- Statutory notice / pay in lieu on termination
- Human-rights (anti-discrimination) protections
- Dispute route (employment-standards branch / labour board)
Official authorities
- Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)
Federal labour-standards framework.
Frequently asked questions
Are employment rules federal or provincial?
Mostly provincial — each province has its own employment standards act; only federally-regulated sectors follow the Canada Labour Code.
How much vacation am I entitled to?
Provincial minimums are typically two weeks, rising to three after several years; check your province.
What happens on termination?
Employers generally must give statutory notice or pay in lieu, and employees may also be owed common-law reasonable notice.
Official-information aggregation, not legal advice. Always verify on the authority's own site.
Government portals
- Government of Canada — Canada's federal service portal — immigration, taxes, benefits, and travel info
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada — Express Entry, Provincial Nominee Program, work/study permits, and PR card applications
- Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) — T1 personal tax returns, corporate taxes, GST/HST, and benefit applications (CCB)