FAQs

There is no legal requirement to have a written employment agreement. The agreement with an employee could be verbal.

However, it is advisable to have a written agreement that clearly sets out the terms and conditions of employment. This will eliminate/reduce disputes about what was agreed to between the parties and is easier to enforce than a verbal contract.

A written employment agreement will also allow you to address and reduce your risks and liabilities. For example, you could address matters such as confidentiality and non-solicitation. You could also restrict your severance obligations to employees, by having a clear and unambiguous termination clause in the employment agreement.

If you have written employment agreements for your employees, you should make sure that the employee has time to read and understand the agreement, and that the employee signs the agreement before they start working for you.

No. If you want your new employee to go through a probationary period, then you should clearly state that in the employment agreement. The reason for having a probationary period is to help the parties determine whether a continued employment relationship is viable. The typical probationary period is three months. While this is OK for lower level employees, you may want to have a longer probationary period for senior employees. Subject to the minimum notice requirements of employment standards legislation, an employer can dismiss an employee without notice, or pay in lieu, during the probationary period. However, the law requires an employer to act in good faith when it is making a decision about the suitability of the employee for continued employment.

In Canada, an employer that wants to terminate an employment relationship without cause, must give the employee notice, or pay in lieu of notice.

If the employer gives notice and requires the employee to work though the notice period, this is “working notice”.

When an employer gives working notice:

• It must be in writing
• It must be clear and unequivocal
• If the employer permits an employee to work beyond the notice period, the notice is ineffective.
• An employer must not alter the terms and conditions of the employee’s employment during the working notice period.
• If an employee resigns during the working notice period, the employer does not have to pay the employee for the remainder of the notice period.

However, some employers choose to give their employees a holiday on either, or both, of these days. There are 11 statutory holidays in BC. They are: New Years Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, B.C. Day, Labour Day, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Thanksgiving Day, Remembrance, and Day Christmas Day. To be paid for a statutory holiday, an employee must have been employed for at least 30 calendar days with the employer and must have worked on at least 15 of the 30 days before the statutory holiday.