Corporate

Employment and Consulting Agreements

In today's business environment, many businesses operate based on the talents, skills and knowledge of a few individuals who are either employees or consultants / contractors. Most of these businesses have understandings with these individuals as to how much they are to be paid, what benefits they are to receive and other minor issues but very few of these businesses have actual written agreements in place.

Written agreements are a must for these individuals to confirm all of the rights and obligations of the parties and to address issues such as severance, the requirement to pay or withhold Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance and Workmen's Compensation premiums, GST and income tax installments. When parties elect to not confirm their understandings in writing, the resolution of these issues on termination of the employee or consultant / contractor often results in one of the parties pursuing its remedy in court with each party claiming their "understanding" to be the version the court should rule in favour of. With a written agreement, litigation and its associated costs can be avoided in most cases.

If you are an employer or a consultant / contractor who is entering into a business relationship with another party to provide services, please feel free to contact the 2020 Law Group at (403) 730-2020 to discuss your circumstances.