Drafting an Employment Contract

An employment contract is a legal document that engages a person (employee) to render a service for the account and under the supervision of another party (the employer), for a remuneration defined in the contract.

The non-solicitation clause allows an employer to protect himself by prohibiting an employee leaving the company from soliciting his customers, suppliers, or even employees of the latter.

The non-competition clause prohibits an employee wishing to leave the company from going to work with a competitor or starting a business offering the same services / products as his employer for a specified period and in a reasonable geographical area.

It is strongly recommended that you have your employment contract drafted by a lawyer familiar with labor law, especially if you think you should include non-competition and non-solicitation clauses. You may forget important terms to protect yourself in the event of breach of contract. You may also be tempted to add very exaggerated clauses that are generally not applicable to the law (for example, prohibiting employees from practicing in the same industry across Canada for duration of 5 years). Such clauses could seem exaggerated and make a potential candidate run away. A lawyer will be able to avoid all these mistakes and advise you on best practices specific to your industry.

No. Retainaining the services of an external provider such as a consultant or contractor is different from an employee recruitment and therefore the contracts are different. To hire a contractor, you need a service contract. To learn more about this product, visit our section contract service for SME.

Yes. Even if you hire someone for a fixed term or to replace an employee during their absence, you need a contract of employment governing the relationship between the new employee and your company.

Yes! After the telephone conversation with your lawyer and the drafting of your employment contract, you will receive your personalized template with the clauses specific to your company. You will then be able to modify certain parts such as the name, title, and salary of the new person and reuse the same model employment contract for your future recruitments. However, it is always suggested to consult a lawyer to ensure that all clauses are applicable and that the law in force has not changed since the drafting of the contract.