3-day Virtual Seminar

Employment Contracts in Canada

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This activity has been approved for 1 HR (General) recertification credit hours toward aPHR, PHR, PHRca, SPHR, GPHR, PHRi and SPHRi recertification through HR Certification Institute (HRCI). Please make note of the activity ID number on your recertification application form. For more information about certification or recertification, please visit the HR Certification Institute website at www.hrci.org." ...more

Overview

This session gives Canadian HR professionals, people leaders, and business decision-makers a practical, general-awareness overview of the factors that tend to influence how employment contracts hold up in practice. Rather than a deep legal analysis, attendees will learn common drafting patterns that frequently create risk, how the broader legal landscape in Canada has been trending, and what a more defensible contract tends to look like from onboarding through termination. Content is grounded in publicly observed trends in Canadian employment practice and is intended to help organizations ask better questions internally not to serve as a substitute for legal advice

Why you should Attend

Somewhere in your organization may be an employment contract that hasn't been tested and gaps often only surface when they matter most. A termination clause that looked fine when drafted can, in some cases, be found unenforceable by a court, shifting the organization's obligations well beyond what was originally intended. A non-compete relied on for years may turn out to have limited enforceability. Canadian employment law in this area has evolved meaningfully, and contract language that once seemed standard is increasingly being challenged.

This session gives you a practical, current-day view of the patterns and considerations that tend to matter most in Canadian employment contracts so you're reviewing your organization's exposure proactively, rather than reacting to it after a dispute has already started.

Areas Covered in the Session

• Common elements found in stronger, more defensible Canadian employment contracts
  
• Termination clauses: drafting patterns that frequently run into legal challenges
  
• How recent trends in Canadian employment law have influenced notice period and severance expectations
  
• Restrictive covenants: general patterns in how non-competes and non-solicits are treated in Canada
  
• Probationary periods and fixed-term contracts: commonly overlooked risk areas
  
• Offer letters vs. formal contracts: gaps that organizations often don't realize exist
  
• Considerations when updating legacy contracts, including constructive dismissal risk
  
• Contract considerations for remote, hybrid, and multi-province employees
  
• Warning signs that a contract may need legal review
  
• A practical discussion checklist to bring back to your legal or HR team
  

Who Will Benefit

• HR Directors and HR Business Partners
• People and Culture Leaders
• Talent Acquisition and Recruitment Leaders
• Senior Executives and Business Owners
• Department Heads and People Managers
• Compliance Officers 
• Any Canadian Professional Involved in Drafting, Reviewing, or Managing Employment Contracts