doing business in canada - Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP

easonable cause to believe that the work would expose him or her to risks to health, safety or physical wellbeingor expose an unborn or breast-fed child to such risks, in the case of a pregnant or breast-feeding worker.Employees cannot contract out of the statute, although employees may agree with employers upon morefavourable working conditions than the minimum standards required by law.Québec's Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases provides compensation for injuriesarising from employment and may include income replacement, compensation for bodily injuries, treatment,rehabilitation, and death benefits. Compensation is based on a no-fault system. Workers injured by accidentsarising from employment or suffering from an industrial disease may receive compensation from the fundestablished for such purposes; they cannot, however, sue the employer for damages. In certain circumstances,the statute may apply to employers who do not have an establishment in Québec at the time when the accidentoccurs or the disease is contracted.Under the Workplace Hazardous Material Information System, employers in all provinces have an obligation toprovide information and educational programs to employees who work with hazardous materials.EMPLOYER HEALTH TAXThe Ontario Health Insurance Plan is partially funded by an employer health tax. Employers who havepermanent establishments in Ontario are required to pay the tax at a graduated tax rate ranging from 0.98% to1.95% per year, depending on the total amount of remuneration paid in the year by the employer to itsemployees. Eligible employers are exempt from employer health tax on the first $400,000 of Ontario payroll.Under An Act respecting the Régie de l'assurance-maladie du Québec, except for a few employers, everyemployer in Québec must pay to the Minister of Revenue a contribution ranging from 2.7% to 4.26% of thewages paid to its employees in the province to finance the health plan.TERMINATION OF EMPLOYEESIn the absence of just cause for termination (which is generally construed narrowly by courts and tribunals inCanada), all employees whether unionized or not are entitled to notice of termination. The notice may be by wayof "working notice" or pay in lieu of such notice. The amount of notice is, at a minimum, the statutoryrequirements as set out in the relevant employment standards legislation, or the requirements of the applicablecollective agreement, for unionized employees. Because minimum statutory employment standards for notice oftermination cannot be contracted out of or waived, terms in an employment agreement that provide for"termination at will", or for notice of less than the statutory minimum, will not be enforceable. Otherwise, anotice period for termination stipulated in an employment agreement will, in most cases, be enforceable.However, Canadian courts are often reluctant to enforce employment agreements that appear to have beenimposed on employees by an employer, with little opportunity for employees to negotiate the terms.If a non-unionized employee is employed for an indefinite term and no specific period of notice of terminationhas been stipulated in an employment agreement, upon the employee's termination, in addition to theemployee's right to the statutory minimum notice or payment in lieu of notice, the employee is entitled to sue incourt for damages if the notice of termination has not been "reasonable".A court's determination of what is "reasonable" will depend on the individual circumstances of the employee,primarily length of service, age, character of employment (i.e., level in the corporate hierarchy), remuneration,availability of similar alternative employment in the geographic locale and whether the employee has beenenticed away from previous secure employment. The conduct of the employer at the time of the terminationmay also be a factor in determining compensation.60 Employment Law