Employment Contract: Fill & Download for Free

There is no such thing as ‘at will employment’ in Canada. The concept of ‘at will’ employment simply doesn’t exist. In Canada, under the common law, except dismissal for just cause (e.g. stealing from the company or punching your boss in the face), employees are hired for an indefinite term and they are thus entitled to reasonable notice of termination or pay in lieu.Employers are prohibited from making an employment contract ‘at will’. A Canadian court will invalidate any employment contract that tries to call employment in Canada ‘at will’ and replace it with a contract of indefinite duration terminable by reasonable notice only.Many US employers who don’t have Canadian employment law advice mistakenly reuse their American employment contracts that contain at-will clauses in Canada. This can be a costly mistake. Canadian counsel could have advised them that properly drafted employment contracts can heavily limit the amount of reasonable notice owed to an employee in Canada.150 years ago in England, a concern in early employment contract law was ensuring agricultural employers had sufficient labour to complete the harvest. As a result, the courts developed an implied term in employment contracts that employment was implied to last at least one year. A one-year contract also encouraged employers to pay workers through the agricultural off season, so that those workers did not become a social burden to their village.English judges made the common law such that employment contracts were only terminable by one party providing notice of termination of a length equal to the period remaining on the contract (i.e. one year or less). Most common law jurisdictions in the world such as the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand followed the English model, except one notable exception – the United States. The United States diverged from the British common law that implied a notice period into employment contracts in the interest of both employers and employees. [1][1][1][1]An implied notice period protected both the employee from unjustifiable dismissal, but also provided the employer with a reasonable assurance that the employee would remain until the end of their contract period, giving them a more stable work force. In the US, employees will often just walk away from their jobs with no notice. In other countries they would be giving up money to do so.Footnotes[1] At Will Employment (Canada)[1] At Will Employment (Canada)[1] At Will Employment (Canada)[1] At Will Employment (Canada)

Basically, they are saying, "I'll take no salary and place all my bets on the future performance of the company." It's largely a symbolic gesture.But they need to have a salary to make it an official employment contract, so they make it $1. That's what they call a peppercorn in contract law.

You can get fired for wearing a red shirt on blue shirt day. And they don’t even have to tell you it’s blue shirt day. That was actual words from a employment contract lawyer I spoke to concerning a bad contract (eventually that experience became an answer).Granted, if you are a net contributor, it would be a stupid thing to do. But never overestimate the intelligence of those in power.I also found this:Employee Retention - The Real Cost of Losing an EmployeeI used it in a comment, but thought it would add perspective.Last, sometimes you are fired for good reason: