Canada

Canada is the 2nd-largest country in the world in terms of land mass and is bordered by the United States. It has a highly developed mixed-market economy with a GDP of around $2 trillion USD. Canada is one of the world's largest trading nations, with an average household disposable income above the OECD average.

Parental Leave

Canada guarantees maternity leave for their employees of at least 15 weeks (though some areas set a higher minimum). This leave is paid by the Canadian social programs that provide payments to new parents. New parents in Canada are also able to take at least 27 weeks of shared parental leave, no matter their gender.

Sick Leave

Employees in Canada who have worked at their companies for at least 90 days are able to take up to 16 weeks of unpaid sick leave without the risk of losing their job. If the sickness is long-term, the employee may be eligible for benefits from Employment Insurance.

Paid Leave

Public holidays celebrated depends on the province, some are nationwide and some are province-specific. Employees are also entitled to 2 weeks of paid time off per year, receiving 4% of their earnings as vacation pay. After 5 years at the company this becomes 15 days with 6% as vacation pay, and after 10 years it becomes 20 days with 8% as vacation pay.

Some provinces also provide paid time off for bereavement, compassionate leave, jury duty, and military leave.

The standard workweek is 40 hours with a maximum of 8 hours of overtime paid at 150% of the regular rate. These are the minimum wages in Canada by province:

• Alberta = CAD 15/hour
• British Columbia = CAD 15.65/hour
• Manitoba = CAD 13.50/hour
• New Brunswick = CAD 13.75/hour
• Newfoundland & Labrador = CAD 13.70/hour
• Northwest Territories = CAD 15.20/hour
• Nova Scotia = CAD 13.60/hour
• Nunavut = CAD 16/hour
• Ontario = CAD 15.50/hour
• Prince Edward Island = CAD 14.50/hour
• Quebec = CAD 14.25/hour
• Saskatchewan = CAD 13/hour
• Yukon = CAD 15.70/hour

Process

The laws in Canada encourage employers to first work with underperforming employees instead of going straight to termination. Canada does not practice at-will employment — if the termination is unavoidable, employees will retain a few protections if it’s not for just cause.

Notice Period

Employees are entitled to notice of termination (or payment in lieu of notice), of which the periods vary based on tenure, cause, and more. The minimum notice is usually 2 weeks, or 1 month in Ontario and Quebec.

Severance Pay

Severance is paid when the contract has a mutual separation agreement, or when an employee has worked a minimum of 1 year at the company. Generally employees receive either 2 days of wages per year worked, or 5 days of wages (whichever is greater) — this varies by province.

Although Canada has a public health system, a lot of companies offer supplemental health insurance to employees with a wider range of options and shorter wait times.