When it comes to People Operations, also known as Human
Resources (HR), there are specific laws that must be adhered to when hiring,
employing and terminating employees, and no two countries are the same. When
expanding into the Canadian market, you could take the time to learn Canadian laws
- which can be difficult to navigate (i.e. vacation pay and maternity leave)
- or you can simply outsource the process to an expert.
Choosing to partner with an Outsourced
Employer as part of your expansion plan is ideal if your plan is to hire
between 5 and 150 people. Using an Outsourced Employer as your Employer-of-Record
is an efficient way to get your Canadian employees hired and paid without having
to navigate Canadian government bodies, and while allowing your team time to
focus on growing your business.
An Outsourced Employer has hundreds of “employees,”
and as such can offer preferred pricing on group benefit (i.e. health insurance)
premiums. If you attempt to obtain individual or group benefits on your own, it
is more difficult and costly than joining an Outsourced Employer’s group
benefit plan. Aside from preferred pricing, an Outsourced Employer also takes
on all the employee liability risk. This means that, if your employees are terminated
and decide to sue their employer for damages, the Outsourced Employer fights to
keep your company out of the complaint. It is the Outsourced Employer’s responsibility
to ensure all employment relationships are 100% compliant with all Canadian HR
best practices, payroll legislation, employment laws and regulations. The
Outsourced Employer is also responsible for the following:
·
Establishing HR policies in compliance with
Canadian laws
·
Processing payroll online – including accurate statutory
taxes, retirement contributions and benefit administration
·
Providing an employee policy handbook and
legislated training
·
Creating employment agreements for each hire and
on-boarding new employees
·
Keeping performance records for all Canadian
employees
·
Preparing termination paperwork and handling
terminations
·
Assisting with any HR issues that arise with the
employees (e.g. absenteeism, poor performance, leaves etc.)
Common question: If an Outsourced Employer provides so
much value, why don’t more companies use them?
Many executives simply don’t know that Outsourced Employers
exist, and if they do, they are not familiar with the benefits of using an
Outsourced Employer (which can mean choosing to share Employer-of-Record
liability so your company can maintain employer status for important documents
such as Certificates of Authorization for Engineering firms, for example).
Some companies might feel the process of hiring and paying
employees in a new country is relatively simple and is a start-up cost only. However,
proper consideration is not always given to the time and resources that goes
into a smooth and efficient HR, payroll and benefit infrastructure or the
breadth of knowledge required to employ in Canada across different provinces. The idea of decreasing HR liability and
reducing benefit costs usually comes after the company has decided to employ
directly. After initial set up, Executives are immediately focused on other
pressing issues, such as product development, sales, and expansion in the new
location. CFOs and COOs often instigate the decision to use an Outsourced
Employer when they discover the impact of inadequately run HR, Payroll and
Benefits on the bottom line and productivity of the company. Companies should look
to engage with an Outsourced Employer when the benefit is highest: as soon
as they consider entering the Canadian market and are looking to hire Canadian
employees.
Alternatively, if you are already employing in Canada or you
are a larger sized company with questions about HR in Canada, you may want to
consider adding a Canadian
HR consultant to support your team.
Looking to
expand to Canada and hire Canadians? Want to talk to an Outsourced Employer?
Email us HERE
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