Canadian Employment Agreements for US Companies
Your US employment agreement may not protect you in Canada.
Canadian employment agreements need to reflect Canadian employment standards, provincial requirements, termination rules, vacation obligations, statutory holidays, and how your business actually manages employees.
For US companies hiring in Canada, the employment agreement is one of the most important documents to get right.
Sienna HR helps US employers create practical Canadian employment agreements that align with their business, their workforce, and their broader HR foundation.
Client testimonials
See what our clients had to say about our services:
Plastics Manufacturing
Ontario / USA
“ConnectsUs took full ownership of a complex cross-border HR project and delivered precise, fully customized Canadian employment agreements and policies. Their expertise, responsiveness, and attention to detail gave us complete confidence in our Ontario HR framework.
Anthony C. Satira
Chief Financial Officer
Multi-Plastics Inc.
Ohio, United States
Tableware Manufacturing
USA / B.C. / Ontario
As a global business with corporate headquarters in the US, Sienna HR helped us navigate cross-border HR with expertise and practical guidance.
……
We are very pleased with the result and highly recommend them to any US company expanding into Canada.
Vivian A. Roeder
VP, HR
Zwiesel Fortessa
Virginia, USA
Why Canadian employment agreements matter
In Canada, the employment agreement does more than confirm the job title, salary, and start date.
It helps define the employment relationship and sets expectations around compensation, hours of work, vacation, overtime, confidentiality, termination, remote work, and other key terms.
If the agreement is outdated, copied from the US, or not aligned with Canadian requirements, it can create unnecessary risk.
That risk often appears when it matters most, such as during a termination, dispute, performance issue, or change in employment terms.
Common issues we see with US companies hiring in Canada
US companies often come to us with agreements that were:
- Adapted from a US offer letter
- Created before the company fully understood Canadian employment rules
- Written for one province but used in another
- Not aligned with the employee handbook
- Missing important Canadian employment language
- Built internally by a manager or operations team
- Updated in pieces over time without a full review
The document may look complete, but that does not mean it is working properly.
What we help with
Sienna HR can help US companies develop or improve Canadian employment agreements for employees in Ontario, Alberta, and BC.
This may include:
- Canadian offer letter and employment agreement structure
- Employment standards alignment
- Vacation, overtime, hours of work, and statutory holiday language
- Remote work and hybrid work considerations
- Confidentiality and company property language
- Coordination with your employee handbook and HR policies
- Practical recommendations for consistent HR administration
We help make sure your agreements are not sitting alone. They should work together with your handbook, policies, payroll practices, HR software, and manager processes.
Best fit for
SiennaHR is a great fit for US companies that are:
- Hiring their first Canadian employee
- Expanding a Canadian team
- Unsure whether current agreements are appropriate for Canada
- Using US offer letters for Canadian hires
- Cleaning up older Canadian employment documents
- Updating agreements before a new round of hiring
- Trying to align agreements with a new employee handbook