Updated on: 2025/08/04 14:03 (UTC)
Overview
Provinces in Canada have exclusive jurisdiction over all aspects of employment relations in most fields of economic activity. The exceptions, subject to federal jurisdiction, are banks, transportation services that cross provincial or international boundaries, airlines, broadcasting, and telecommunications. These employees are covered by the Canada Labour Code and their complaints are handled by the Labour Program.
In addition, unemployment insurance for all Canadian employees is regulated under the federal Employment Insurance Act, and public pension benefits are provided to residents of all provinces except Quebec under the federal Canada Pension Plan.
In Quebec, non-unionized employee relationships are largely governed by the provincial Act Respecting Labour Standards (LSA), and unionized employment relationships by the Quebec Labour Code.
Hiring
Employment Contracts
There is no at-will employment in Canada, all employment relationships are contractual. There is no requirement to enter into a written employment contract with non-unionized employees. In cases where no written employment contract exists or where the contract does not fully address the terms and conditions of employment, the employment relationship is governed by standards set out in the Civil Code.
Employees in Quebec can be hired for an indeterminate term or for a fixed term.
For more information, see the country primer.
A probationary period is allowed, providing the employee understands its terms from the first day of employment and agrees to them in writing. In the absence of language regarding probation in an employment contract, courts will generally hold that an employee is entitled to full employment rights from the start of employment, including protections against arbitrary termination. If an employee is presented with a letter of probation and agrees to its terms, however, the probationary period is regarded as valid under law. A worker in a probationary period is covered by all the provisions of the Act Respecting Labour Standards and must be paid at least at minimum wage.
Effective June 1, 2022, employers must use French in written communications with employees (including application forms, employment contracts and training documents) unless the employee requests a different language of communication. Employers must take all reasonable means to avoid requiring a person to have knowledge of a language other than French to obtain or keep a position. If a business does require knowledge of a language other than French to obtain a position, it must indicate this requirement in the job posting and be able to show that it:
- assessed the actual language needs associated with the job;
- ensured that the language skills required of other staff members were insufficient for the performance of the job; and
- restricted as much as possible the number of positions involving duties that require the knowledge or a specific level of knowledge of a language other than French.
Companies with more than 50 workers must demonstrate that the use of French is generalized throughout the workplace. Effective June 1, 2025, this requirement will be extended to employers with 25 or more employees.
Restrictions on Hiring
Children under 14 years of age may not be employed without the written consent of parents or guardian. Children may not be employed during school hours if they are subject to compulsory school attendance and may not work between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. except in limited circumstances. Work by children must be scheduled so that they may be at their homes between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. if they are of an age where school attendance is compulsory, i.e., up to age 16.
Under the LSA, employees under age 18 may not perform work disproportionate to their capacity or that is likely to be detrimental to education, health or physical or moral development.
Recordkeeping
Employers are required to retain the following information about each employee:
- name, age, sex and last known residential address;
- rates of wages, hours of work, vacation periods, leaves of absence, pay and vacation pay;
- date each employee began and ended employment;
- dates of all layoffs or discharges of every employee and
- dates of any notice of layoffs or discharges.
A labor standards officer may inspect all registers, books, payrolls and other records of any employer or recruiter that in any way relate to the employment or recruitment of individuals. The Labour Standards Code requires retention of records for three years after the work was performed.
Background Checks
Quebec’s private sector privacy legislation—An Act Respecting the Protection of Personal Information in the Private Sector (QPPIPS)—is “substantially similar” to the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) but unlike PIPEDA applies to employee and customer information.
Employers must obtain consent of a former employee before responding to inquiries asking for information regarding the individual. Prospective employers are allowed to make inquiries regarding information offered during an interview if they have a serious and legitimate reason for doing so. Employees can permit employers to give information on performance and attitude at work without authorizing the release of a social insurance number or salary.
Noncompetition Agreements
Noncompetition and nonsolicitation agreements may form part of an employment agreement, although the scrutiny they receive from the courts in Quebec is likely to be closer than in other provinces. The Civil Code allows for noncompete agreements so long as the stipulation not to compete is limited as to time, place, and type of employment. The scope must be limited to what is necessary for the protection of the legitimate interest of the employer. A noncompete is not enforceable if the employer terminates the employment relationship without cause.
The Quebec Courts will thus often require an employer to show that either type of restrictive clause is reasonable both as between the parties and in light of the public interest in allowing everyone to freely engage in the occupation of choice.
Reference Citations
Restrictions on Hiring: An Act Respecting Labour Standards, CQLR ch. N-1.1 §§ 84.2-84.6
Recordkeeping: An Act Respecting Labour Standards, CQLR ch. N-1.1 § 29
Background Checks: An Act Respecting the Protection of Personal Information in the Private Sector, CQLR ch. P-39.1
Noncompete Agreements: Civil Code of Quebec, CQLR ch. 64, § 2089, § 2095
Immigration and Work Permits
In General
An individual not a citizen or permanent resident must have a work permit to be legally employed in Canada. A work permit is usually very specific and valid for only a particular employer, a particular job, and a limited time. A labor market impact assessment must be conducted to ensure there are no Canadians available to do the job.
Visas and Work Permits
An individual not a citizen or permanent resident must have a work permit to be legally employed in Canada. A work permit is usually very specific, valid for only a particular employer, a particular job and a limited time.
Employers can hire temporary workers through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) or the International Mobility Program (IMP).
The TFWP lets employers hire temporary workers to fill temporary labor and skill shortages when qualified Canadians are not available. To hire an employee under this program, most employers will need to conduct what is known as a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). An LMIA verifies that there is a need for a temporary worker and that no Canadians are available to do the job. An LMIA will not be required in every case. For example, the law exempts certain occupations from the LMIA or work permit requirements and certain exceptions are made within the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to streamline the process.
The International Mobility Program (IMP) allows an employer to hire an employee without a LMIA. In most cases, the employer must submit an offer of employment through the Employer Portal, after which the Temporary Foreign Worker will apply for a work permit. The employer may have additional reporting responsibilities once the employment relationship is initiated.
Employers hiring temporary foreign workers and offering them a wage that is below the provincial or territorial median hourly wage are subject to a cap on the proportion of these workers that they can hire in low-wage positions at a specific work location.
Skilled Worker Program: Skilled worker applicants may apply to emigrate to Quebec under the Regular Skilled Worker Program (RSWP). Individuals interested in emigrating to the province through the program can submit an expression of interest through Arrima. Applicants must be 18 years of age or older. The expression of interest is valid for 12 months (one year) from the date of submission.
Applicants who are successful under the program’s selection system are issued a Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) and can then apply to the Canadian government for permanent residence.
As of September 23, 2022, it is mandatory to apply online through the Permanent residence online application portal account, unless the applicant requires accommodations. Applicants may also submit an application via an immigration representative who should be authorized by the Minister of Immigration, Francization and Integration. If the applicant is successful, the certificate will be issued showing that the Province of Quebec has accepted you as an immigrant.
If granted, the applicant must then apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for permanent residence.
Foreign nationals applying to work in Canada are subject to biometric screening (fingerprints and photo).
Penalties
Possible penalties for employers that violate rules regarding the hiring of foreign workers include:
- warnings;
- financial penalties ranging from C$500 to C$100,000 per violation up to an annual maximum C$1 million per employer;
- a ban of one, two, five or 10 years or permanent bans for the most serious violations;
- the refusal of any pending work permit applications tied to the violating employer’s business;
- • the revocation of active work permits that are tied to the employer’s business.
If the employer receives a monetary penalty of any amount or a ban for any length of time, their business will be added to a public list of non-compliant employers.
Penalties are decided on a point system which considers:
- the type of violation,
- • the nature of the violation, an employer’s compliance history, the severity of noncompliance,
- the size of the employer’s business (for financial penalties only), and
- • if the employer voluntarily disclosed the violation before they were told they would be inspected.
Reference Citations
Visas and Work Permits: : Hiring in the Province of Quebec; Regular Skilled Worker Program
Penalties: Temporary Foreign Worker Program Compliance
Nondiscrimination
In General
Employers may not discriminate in making decisions concerning an employee’s hiring, career, pay or termination on any of the grounds prohibited in the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms: race, color, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, civil status, age except as provided by law, religion, political convictions, language, ethnic or national origins, social condition, handicap, or the use of a means to palliate a handicap.
An individual may bring a complaint of a violation of the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms to the Commission des droits de la personne et de la Jeunesse (Human Rights and Youth Commission). If the commission considers that the complaint has merit and the parties are unable to settle it, the complaint may be referred to the Tribunal des droits de la personne (Human Rights Tribunal). The commission may also launch investigations on its own initiative where it considers there has been a breach of a right protected by the human rights charter. The tribunal will hold an adversarial hearing at which the parties present evidence and examine and cross examine witnesses. If the tribunal allows the complaint, it may award monetary damages for lost wages or expenses incurred due to the discrimination and order that discriminatory conduct cease. The tribunal’s orders are legally binding and may not be appealed, although they are subject to judicial review.
Pay Discrimination
The Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms requires employers to pay equal wages to employees performing “equivalent work at the same place” without discrimination based on any ground prohibited under the charter, including sex. Wage differences based on seniority, experience, merit, productivity or overtime are permitted.
In addition to these prohibitions on sex discrimination in wages, the Quebec Pay Equity Act requires all employers under provincial jurisdiction that have 10 or more employees to develop pay equity plans. These plans involve assessing the nature of the work of employees in male- and female-dominated jobs (defined as being 60 percent or more male or female), averaging the wages of these jobs and increasing the wages of employees in female-dominated jobs paid less than colleagues in male-dominated jobs performing work of equal value.
As soon as an enterprise has an average of 10 employees or more, the employer has four years to complete its pay equity plan. When the pay equity plan is completed, the employer must conduct a pay equity audit every five years.
Gender Pay Reporting: The results of the pay equity plan must be posted for 60 days in prominent places easily accessible to employees. Pay equity audit results (conducted every 5 years) must be posted for 60 days in a similar manner. Employees must be informed of the posting and provided with details such as the posting date, the posting period, and how they may access its content.
When underpayment of female-dominated jobs is found, the employer has four years to increase the wages of these jobs and make any required back payments. Where there are disagreements as to the evaluation of jobs, pay equity wage increases or any other matter under the Quebec Pay Equity Act, an employee or a union may file a complaint with the Pay Equity Commission. If the complaint is not settled, the commission may issue an order resolving it. A party that is dissatisfied with a commission order may seek to have it reviewed by the Quebec Labour Relations Board. In addition to dealing with complaints brought to it, the commission may investigate employers and review pay equity plans on its own initiative.
Other Forms of Discrimination
Employees cannot engage in psychological harassment, which can include verbal comments, actions and gestures of a sexual nature. Employers must adopt and distribute a psychological harassment prevention and complaint processing policy to employees. Complaints related to psychological harassment must be filed within two years of the last incidence of the offending behavior.
Employees cannot be paid less than other employees who perform the same task in the same establishment solely because of their employment status.
The Canadian Labor Code protects employees from being required to undergo or to disclose the results of a genetic test and provides employees with other protections related to genetic testing and test results.
Reference Citations
Nondiscrimination: Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, CQLR ch. C-12
Pay Discrimination: Pay Equity Act, CQLR ch. E-12.001, §§ 31-34, 50-54
Other Forms of Discrimination: An Act Respecting Labour Standards, CQLR ch. N-1.1 §§ 81.18-81.20
Employee Privacy
Employee Data
Privacy is a fundamental right protected by Quebec’s Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.
Quebec also has their own private sector privacy act, the Act Respecting the Protection of Personal Information in the Private Sector which is overseen by the Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec. These laws apply to most organizations operating within B.C., Alberta or Quebec. Organizations who are subject to the Quebec privacy law are generally exempt from Canada’s federal privacy law, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), except:
- • When processing transactions which involve personal information transferred across borders
- • Or if the organization is a federal work, undertaking, or business (FWUBs) such as a bank, telecommunication, or transportation company.
PIPEDA also applies to organizations in the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut, as they are considered federally regulated.
An employer may only collect personal information that is necessary to evaluate an applicant for a position and must gather that information in a legal way. Asking discriminatory questions, such as whether a job candidate has children, is not a legal way to collect information.
Employees are entitled to access any personal information the employer collects and have the right to know why the employer created the file, the use to which the information will be put, the people who will have access to it and the place it will be kept.
The Canadian federal privacy law, the Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), applies to employee information in federal works, undertakings, and businesses including banks, telecommunication companies and transportation companies. Under the act, federal government employers are restricted as to what information can be collected and how it can be used.
Employee Monitoring and Surveillance
Employers may install video cameras to monitor employees when a legitimate reason for the surveillance exists, such as incidents of stolen money or property. Cameras are never allowed in certain places, such as restrooms. An employer that has no alternative but to film employees at work must do everything possible to respect their rights. Filming is a surveillance method that employers should only use as a last resort and only when all possible precautions are taken.
Similarly, employers may monitor employee emails only if a valid reason to do so exists. This is a compromise between the employee obligation of loyalty to the employer, and the employer obligation to respect the privacy of employees. Employers must have a reason to believe that employees are using email for non-work reasons during work hours and that the use is unreasonable. Any surveillance method used by the employer must be reasonable and necessary for the workplace to function properly.
Reference Citations
Employee Data: Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, CQLR ch. C-12 §§ 5, 9, Canada Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, R.S.A 2003, ch. P-6.5, § 7; Act Respecting the Protection of Personal Information in the Private Sector (chapter P-39.21)
Employee Monitoring and Surveillance: Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, CQLR ch. C-12 §§ 5, 9, Canada Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, R.S.A 2003, ch. P-6.5, § 7; Act Respecting the Protection of Personal Information in the Private Sector (chapter P-39.21)
Compensation
Hours of Work
The standard workday is eight hours, the standard workweek is 40.
Employees are entitled to a weekly minimum rest period of 32 consecutive hours. A 30-minute meal break must be given to employees who work for a period of at least five consecutive hours.
Employees may refuse to work:
- more than two hours after regular daily working hours or more than 14 working hours per 24-hour period, whichever period is the shortest or, for an employee whose daily working hours are flexible or non-continuous, more than 12 working hours per 24-hour period; and
- more than 50 working hours per week or, for an employee working in an isolated area or carrying out work in the James Bay territory, more than 60 working hours per week.
Managers are not subject to the work hour rules.
Employers and employees may agree on the staggering of working hours on a basis other than weekly, provided certain conditions are met.
Minimum Wage
Effective May 1, 2024, the minimum hourly wage increases to C$15.75 from C$15.25.
Under the Canada Labour Code, the minimum wage established by the province in which a federally regulated employee works is the minimum wage applicable to that employee.
Overtime
Employees must be paid overtime at time and a half their regular rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 in a week.
Hours of work may be averaged over more than one week for purposes of determining overtime entitlement with the permission of the Commission des norms du travail (Labour Standards Commission). Employees cannot be required to work more than two hours of overtime per day and in some cases they can refuse to work overtime if they have not been informed of the work schedule at least five days in advance.
Employees may agree with their employer, individually or through a collective agreement, to take time off in lieu of overtime pay. In such cases, the time off must be one and a half times the number of overtime hours worked. The leave must be taken during the 12 months following the overtime at a date agreed between the employer and the employee; otherwise the overtime must be paid.
For the purposes of computing overtime, annual leave and statutory general holidays with pay are counted as days of work.
Managers and some other employees are not subject to these overtime provisions.
Wage Payment
Nonmanagerial employees must be paid at least every 16 days, managerial employees at least monthly. Biweekly payments for all employees is common practice.
An employee’s wages must be accompanied by a pay slip that includes the following information:
- the name of the employer;
- the name of the employee;
- the employee’s occupation;
- the date of the payment and the work period corresponding to the payment;
- the number of hours paid at the prevailing rate;
- the number of hours of overtime paid or replaced by leave with the applicable premium;
- the nature and amount of the bonuses, indemnities, allowances or commissions paid;
- the wage rate;
- the amount of wages before deductions;
- the nature and amount of the deductions;
- the amount of the net wages paid to the employee;
- the amount of the tips reported by the employee; and
- the amount of the tips the employer has attributed to the employee.
Employers under provincial jurisdiction in Quebec may only make deductions from an employee’s pay that are:
- required by a statute (e.g. income tax legislation),
- required by a court order or judgment,
- authorized by a collective agreement binding on the employee,
- required under a mandatory supplemental pension plan or
- personally authorized in writing by the employee.
Wages can be paid in cash in a sealed envelope, by check or bank transfer.
Mandatory Bonuses
There are no provisions governing bonuses in Quebec’s labor code.
Reference Citations
Hours of Work: An Act Respecting Labour Standards, CQLR ch. N-1.1 §§ 52, 78-79
Minimum Wage: An Act Respecting Labour Standards, CQLR ch. N-1.1 § 40; Current and Forthcoming Minimum Hourly Wage Rates For Experienced Adult Workers in Canada
Overtime: An Act Respecting Labour Standards, CQLR ch. N-1.1 § 55
Wage Payment: An Act Respecting Labour Standards, CQLR ch. N-1.1 §§ 42-46
Mandatory Bonuses: An Act Respecting Labour Standards, CQLR ch. N-1.1 § 39.1-97
Deductions: An Act Respecting Labour Standards, CQLR ch. N-1.1 § 39.1-97
Benefits
Vacation
Annual leave for employees in provincially regulated industries in Quebec is governed by the Act Respecting Labour Standards (LSA). As of 2023, annual paid leave is calculated by the reference year period, which runs from May 1 to April 30.
Regulated employees who have worked less than one year of uninterrupted service are entitled to no less than one day of fully paid leave for each month worked, for a total leave not exceeding two weeks.
Employees who at the end of the reference year have worked for an employer for a full year are entitled to a minimum of two weeks’ paid leave. Employees with three years of service with the same employer are entitled to a minimum of three weeks of paid leave.
An employee with between one and four years’ employment is also entitled to one week’s unpaid vacation if the employee chooses. The employer cannot refuse this leave. However, employees cannot demand that their additional leave immediately follow their other two weeks of vacation. This additional leave cannot be split.
An employee’s contract of employment may provide for a longer vacation period. The vacation period must be in consecutive weeks off unless the employee and the employer agree otherwise, with the exception of a leave not exceeding one week, which may not be divided.
The annual leave must be taken within 12 months following the end of the reference year except where a collective agreement or a decree allows it to be deferred until the following year. An employee on leave at the end of the year by reason of illness or family responsibilities may request to postpone vacation to the following year, although the employer is not obligated to agree.
The employer has discretion to fix the date of the employee’s vacation but must do so at least 4 weeks in advance.
Employees entitled to two weeks’ vacation must receive 4 percent of their earnings for the year for which the vacation is taken. This increases to 6 percent for employees entitled to three weeks’ vacation. The payment of the annual leave must be given to the employee in a lump sum before the beginning of the leave. Upon termination of employment, an employee is entitled to any vacation pay owing for the prior completed year of work and prorated vacation pay for the current vacation year.
Employers are prohibited from providing payment in lieu of leave unless a special provision is contained in a collective agreement.
Holidays
Employees in Quebec are entitled to eight general holidays:
- Jan. 1: New Year’s Day
- Good Friday or Easter Monday
- Monday preceding May 25
- June 24: National Holiday / St. John the Baptist’s Day
- July 1: Canada Day
- Labour Day (1st Monday in September)
- Thanksgiving Day (2nd Monday in October)
- Dec. 25: Christmas Day
In addition, Dec. 26 is generally observed as a general holiday.
Employees in Quebec who are protected by the federal Canada Labour Code are entitled to two additional paid holidays:
- Nov. 11: Remembrance Day
- Sept. 30: National Day of Truth and Reconciliation
When a general holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, it is celebrated the following Monday. When a general holiday falls during an employee’s annual vacation, the employee must either receive an extra day’s regular pay or be granted an additional day off.
Employees who work on general holidays that fall on a regularly scheduled working day for them (typically this would occur where the employer’s operations are continuous, such as in a hospital, restaurant or hotel) and who are entitled to a substitute paid day off receive a regular day’s pay for work on a general holiday.
Employees who work on a general holiday that is not a regularly scheduled working day for them must receive pay for the time worked and an amount equal to one day’s pay based on the employee’s earnings in the four weeks preceding the holiday. Alternatively, the employer may give the employee a paid day off within the three weeks following the holiday.
An employer must pay an employee the indemnity for general holidays even if the employee is on vacation on the date of the holiday or if the holiday is not part of the employee’s regular work schedule.
The holiday leave does not apply to an employee who was absent from work without authorization or valid reason on the working day before or following the holiday. It also does not apply to employees who are on extended sick leave, unpaid leave, maternity, paternity, or parental leave.
Maternity Leave
Pregnant employees are entitled to up to 18 weeks’ unpaid maternity leave, which must not begin before the sixteenth week preceding the expected date of delivery and can end no later than 20 weeks after the week of delivery. Following maternity leave, the employee also is entitled to an additional 52 weeks of parental leave.
The employee must provide her employer, three weeks before departure on maternity leave, with a written notice stating the date of her departure and her return to work. The notice must be accompanied by a medical certificate attesting to the pregnancy and expected date of delivery.
From the sixth week before the expected date of delivery, the employer may require, in writing, a medical certificate stating that the employee is fit to work. If the employee does not provide a certificate within eight days, the employer may require her to take her maternity leave.
Where there is a risk to the health of the pregnant person or the unborn child that requires the employee to stop working, the employee is entitled to special leave, without pay, for the duration indicated by a medical professional.
If there is termination of pregnancy before the beginning of the 20th week preceding the expected date of delivery, the employee is entitled to special unpaid maternity leave of up to three weeks. If the termination of pregnancy occurs in or after the 20th week, the employee is entitled to unpaid maternity leave of up to 20 weeks beginning from the week of the termination.
Maternity leave benefits payable under the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan provide a substantial measure of income replacement for employees on maternity leave. At the end of maternity leave, the employer must reinstate the employee to her former position with the same benefits, including the wage rate to which the employee would have been entitled had the employee remained at work. If the position held by the employee no longer exists, the employer must recognize all the rights and privileges to which the employee would have been entitled if the employee had been at work at the time the position ceased to exist.
An employer cannot penalize an employee in any way because the employee is or will be eligible to take a pregnancy or parental leave, or for taking or planning to take a pregnancy or parental leave.
Paternity Leave
Fathers are entitled to five consecutive weeks’ unpaid leave on the birth or adoption of a child, which must be timed so as to end within 78 weeks of the birth or the date the child first came into their care. Fathers of a newly born or newly adopted child also are entitled to an additional period of parental leave.
At the end of paternity leave, the employer must reinstate the employee to his former position with the same benefits, including the wage rate to which the employee would have been entitled had the employee remained at work. If the position held by the employee no longer exists, the employer must recognize all the rights and privileges to which the employee would have been entitled if the employee had been at work at the time the position ceased to exist.
Paternity leave benefits payable under the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan provide a substantial measure of income replacement for employees on paternity leave.
Sick Leave
Employees are entitled to up to 26 weeks in each 12-month period as unpaid leave for sickness or injuries that are not work-related. Employees must receive full pay for the first two days of sick leave if they have been credited with at least three months of uninterrupted service.
Statutory leave for sickness includes organ or tissue donation and cases of domestic or sexual violence in which the employee is the victim. Leave resulting from an injury inflicted during the course of employment is separately governed by the Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases (chapter A-3.001).
Employees must notify their employers as soon as possible of the reason for the absence. Employers may request a document attesting to the cause and duration of the absence.
At the end of the period of absence, the employer must reinstate the employee to his or her former position with the same benefits, including the wage rate to which the employee would have been entitled had the employee remained at work. If the position held by the employee no longer exists, the employer must recognize all the rights and privileges to which the employee would have been entitled if the employee had been at work at the time the position ceased to exist.
Other Leave
Parental leave. Each parent of a newly born or newly adopted child is entitled to parental leave without pay for up to 52 weeks. Parental leave is in addition to the maternity leave lasting 18 weeks or the paternity leave lasting 5 weeks. Parental leave may not begin before the week the child is born or in the case of adoption the week the child is entrusted to the employee. Employees must provide their employers with three weeks’ notice of the start and end dates of parental leave. At the end of parental leave, the employer must reinstate the employee to his or her former position with the same benefits, including the wage rate, to which the employee would have been entitled had the employee remained at work.
Parental leave may be broken down into weeks upon the employee’s request and with the employer’s consent. Parental leave must end no later than 78 weeks after the birth or adoption of a child.
An employee may be absent from work for five days following:
- • The birth of the employee’s child, including a child born in the context of a surrogacy project.
- • The employee giving birth in the context of a surrogacy project.
- • The adoption of a child.
- • The termination of pregnancy in or after the twentieth week of pregnancy. The first two days of absence shall be remunerated.
The first two days of any of the above leave will be paid, with the remainder being unpaid.
An employer cannot penalize an employee in any way because the employee is or will be eligible to take a pregnancy or parental leave, or for taking or planning to take a pregnancy or parental leave. The first two days are paid for employees. Parental leave benefits payable under the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan provide a substantial measure of income replacement for employees on parental leave.
Family leave. An employee may take up to 10 days’ unpaid leave per year for obligations relating to the health, care, or education of the employee’s child or the child of the employee’s spouse, a relative, or a person for whom the employee acts as a caregiver. The first two days taken annually are paid if the employee has three months of continuous service.
Employees may take up to 16 weeks’ unpaid leave per 12-month period to stay with a relative who suffers from a serious illness or has suffered a serious accident. Employees are entitled to 27 weeks’ unpaid leave over a 12-month period to care for a relative (other than a minor child) suffering from a potentially mortal illness.
Employees are entitled to 36 weeks’ unpaid leave over a 12-month period to care for a minor child because of a serious illness or accident.
If an employee’s minor child suffers from a potentially fatal illness or has suffered serious injury as a result of a criminal offense, the leave may be extended up to 104 weeks.
If an employee’s minor child has disappeared, the employee may take an unpaid leave of absence of up to 104 weeks. If the child is found alive, the return to work must be made up to 11 days later. An employee who is absent because his minor child has disappeared may be granted leave of up to 104 weeks if the child is found dead.
Bereavement leave. Employees are entitled to two day’s paid leave of absence and three days’ unpaid on the death or funeral of a spouse, child, child of the employee’s spouse, parent or sibling. Employees are entitled to one day’s unpaid leave of absence on the death or funeral of a grandparent, grandchild, son- or daughter-in-law or a father-, mother, brother- or sister-in-law.
Employees also are entitled to 104 weeks off without pay in the following situations:
- death of a child who is under the age of 18, or
- suicide of a spouse, parent, or child aged 18 or older.
Reservist leave. Employers are required to give unpaid leaves of absence to employees who are reservists in the Canadian armed forces for up to 15 days’ annual training, up to 18 months’ callup for civil defense or disaster relief and for a period determined by regulations for other armed forces’ operations.
Employees must have been employed for 12 months to be eligible for reservist leave and must give the employer four weeks’ advance notice of the taking of the leave unless a serious cause prevents the giving of this length of notice.
Marriage leave. Employees can be absent from work one day with pay for their marriage or civil union. Employees also may take one day without pay for the marriage or civil union of their child, parent, sibling or spouse’s child.
Pensions and Social Security
Employees in Quebec are covered by the Quebec Pension Plan, whether they work in industries under federal or provincial jurisdiction.
In addition, employers often provide private supplemental pension plans of either a defined contribution or a defined benefit nature. Employers may also provide employees with the opportunity to participate in a group registered retirement savings plan.
Contributions to the QPP and the Canada Pension Plan, to which residents of all other provinces and territories contribute, are fully portable between the two plans.
The standard age for beginning to receive QPP pension benefits is 65. Individuals may begin receiving reduced QPP benefits at age 60 or may delay receiving benefits until 70, in which case benefits are proportionally increased.
Pensioners who continue to work and have employment earnings of over C$3,500 must contribute to the QPP until age 70, the latest age for beginning to receive QPP pension benefits.
Workers’ Compensation
As in all other Canadian jurisdictions, workers’ compensation in Quebec is administered by a board that provides no-fault compensation and rehabilitation assistance to employees who are injured at work or contract occupational illnesses. All employers in Quebec are required to make payments into the workers’ compensation fund, the rate of contribution determined by the number of the employer’s employees in Quebec, the type of industry the employer is engaged in and its individual experience rating.
Employees who suffer a work-related injury or illness are compensated for lost wages by the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité au travail (Occupational Health and Safety Board). The Board also pays for medical care and rehabilitation for employees. Employees may not be terminated or laid off (unless such an event would have happened regardless of the injury) while they are absent from work due to a work-related injury.
] Leave resulting from an injury inflicted during the course of employment is separately governed by the Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases (chapter A-3.001).
If an employee suffers an injury or contracts an illness that would amount to a handicap under the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, the employer will be required to reasonably accommodate the employee’s absences up to the point of undue hardship for the employer.
Reference Citations
Vacation: An Act Respecting Labour Standards, CQLR ch. N-1.1 §§ 66-76; Canada Labour Code, R.S., c. L-1, s. 1 § 166.
Holidays: An Act Respecting Labour Standards, CQLR ch. N-1.1 §§ 59.1-65
Maternity Leave: An Act Respecting Labour Standards, CQLR ch. N-1.1 §§ 81.4-81.6
Paternity Leave: An Act Respecting Labour Standards, CQLR ch. N-1.1 § 81.1
Sick Leave: An Act Respecting Labour Standards, CQLR ch. N-1.1 § 79.1
Other Leave: An Act Respecting Labour Standards, CQLR ch. N-1.1 §§ 79.1 - 81; An Act to Amend the Act respecting labor standards and other legislative provisions mainly to facilitate family-work balance, 2018
Pensions and Social Security: The Quebec Pension Plan at a Glance
Workers’ Compensation: An Act Respecting Industrial Accident and Occupational Diseases, CQLR, ch. A-3.001
Labor Relations
In General
Under the constitution and various labor laws, Canadian employees have the right to form and join unions, to bargain collectively, and to strike.
Right to Organize
The labor relations system in all Canadian jurisdictions is one in which collective bargaining takes place between a single employer and the union recognized or certified as the exclusive bargaining agent for a group of the employer’s employees forming a bargaining unit.
Unions are certified as exclusive bargaining agents by the Commission des Relations du Travail (Labour Relations Board) if they show they have the support of a majority of the employees in the proposed bargaining unit. A trade union may apply for certification as the exclusive bargaining agent for a group of employees if it presents evidence satisfactory to the Labour Relations Board that it represents between 35 percent and 50 percent of the employees in the proposed bargaining unit. Almost invariably, this evidence takes the form of union membership cards. If the board is satisfied that at least 35 percent of the employees in the proposed bargaining unit are represented by the union, it will order a secret-ballot representation vote.
The union is certified if it obtains a majority of the votes cast in the secret-ballot representation election conducted by the board. If a union presents membership cards from 50 percent plus one of the employees in the proposed bargaining unit, it will be certified without a vote. Voluntary recognition of unions by employers is not permitted under the Quebec Labour Code.
When a union is certified or recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent, the union and the employer are required to negotiate in good faith with a view to entering into a collective agreement. Collective agreements are required to have a term of at least one year in all Canadian jurisdictions. Two- or three-year agreements have been typical in the past, but agreements for considerably longer periods have become more common since the late 1990s. Labor relations statutes in all Canadian jurisdictions prohibit strikes or lockouts during the term of a collective agreement and require that all disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the collective agreement be resolved by binding arbitration.
These statutes also prohibit certain actions by employers or unions as “unfair labor practices.”
Dispute Resolution
The Quebec Labour Relations Board has the power to issue binding decisions on the certification of unions as exclusive bargaining agents, unfair labor practice complaints, bargaining in bad faith complaints, successor rights in case of dispositions of all or part of a business and complaints of illegal strikes or lockouts. The Quebec Ministry of Labour provides mediation at either party’s request to assist a union and an employer to reach an agreement. The minister may also name a mediator on his or her own initiative. Mediation is one of a number of steps—including good faith bargaining—required before the parties are in a position to engage in a legal strike or lockout.
Strikes and Lockouts
Strikes and lockouts are only permitted in limited circumstances in industries coming under provincial jurisdiction in Quebec. Peaceful picketing of an employer’s worksite is permitted during a lawful strike or lockout, as is picketing at other sites, such as publicly accessible areas of a shopping center or at the places of business of other employers the union considers to be allies of the employer involved in the labor dispute. Picketing may be limited—or prohibited, if unlawful—by injunctions issued by the Quebec Superior Court.
Successorship Clauses
Quebec’s Labour Code safeguards the rights of employees during and after mergers or acquisitions. To the extent there is a transfer of undertaking from one owner to another, the code provides for the continued observance of the working conditions agreed to in any collective agreement until the date of termination or expiration of the agreement or the entry into force or application of another agreement.
Reference Citations
Right to Organize: Labour Code, CQLR ch. C-27 §§ 3, 28, 53
Strikes and Lockouts: Labour Code, CQLR ch. C-27 §§ 20.2, 107, 109
Successorship Clauses: Labour Code, CQLR ch. C-27 § 45
Safety, Health and Security
In General
Quebec’s Occupational Health and Safety Act and the regulations issued under it set out comprehensive standards aimed at ensuring workplace safety in industries under provincial jurisdiction. These standards include detailed technical specifications for equipment and for safe-working procedures.
Workplace Safety and Health
Joint occupational health and safety committees may be established when a workplace has 20 or more employees and must be established where at least 10 percent of the employees (or four employees, if there are fewer than 40 in the workplace) request one. Committees are made up of equal numbers of managerial and nonmanagerial employees. Where some or all of the latter are unionized, the union designates the nonmanagerial members.
The Commission de la Santé et de la Sécurité au Travail (Occupational Health and Safety Commission) may also require the formation of a joint committee in any workplace, regardless of its size. Occupational health and safety committees have extensive powers to establish safety programs, assess risks in the working environment, and receive complaints and suggestions in regard to health and safety matters in the workplace.
Prevention of workplace violence is considered part of occupational health and safety. Psychological harassment is also prohibited under the LSA and may constitute an occupational health and safety risk.
Quebec occupational health and safety legislation provides for fines for employers and individuals guilty of violation of its worker safety legislation. The Federal Criminal Code imposes fines on employers of up to C$100,000 in summary conviction proceedings and in an unlimited amount in proceedings by way of indictment. Individuals may be fined or imprisoned for up to 14 years for violations of the duty of ensuring worker safety under the code.
Drug and Alcohol Use
Employers subject to provincial jurisdiction in Quebec are required to take a wide variety of measures to ensure the safety of their workforces. Particularly where a workplace is inherently dangerous, employers should establish rules prohibiting employee impairment by drugs or alcohol while at work.
Drug and alcohol testing may take place when an employer has reasonable grounds to suspect that a particular employee may be impaired or as part of a general policy of testing all employees following a safety-related incident. Testing of a particular employee on a random basis may also be permissible as part of a return-to-work program following treatment for drug or alcohol dependency. Random drug or alcohol testing may be permissible for employees in inherently dangerous workplaces if the employer demonstrates the existence of widespread drug or alcohol impairment among those employees.
Employers may impose disciplinary sanctions, including termination, on employees who are impaired by drugs or alcohol at work. When an employee is addicted to alcohol or drugs, the addiction is considered a disability under Quebec human rights legislation, however, and engages the employer’s duty to accommodate the employee up to the point of undue hardship for the employer.
Reference Citations
Workplace Safety and Health: Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, CQLR ch. C-12 § 50
Termination
Termination by Employer
Quebec’s labor law requires an employer to give written notice to an employee before terminating the employee’s contract of employment or laying the employee off for six months or more. The law provides for notice periods preceding termination of between one and eight weeks, depending on the length of the employee’s service. The employer has the option of providing pay in lieu of notice.
An employer cannot give notice of termination to an employee who is laid off if their employment contract is for a period longer than six months.
The notice requirements do not apply to an employee:
- who has less than three months of uninterrupted service;
- whose contract for a fixed term or for a specific undertaking expires;
- who has committed a serious fault; or
- for whom the end of the contract of employment or the layoff is a result of an extraordinary event.
Employers who do not give the notice as prescribed by the law or who give insufficient notice, must pay employees an amount equal to their regular wages excluding overtime for a period equal to the period or remaining period of notice to which they were entitled.
The law’s notice requirements are minimums. Unless the termination is for cause, employees will frequently be entitled to much longer periods of advance notice—or pay in lieu of notice—under the Civil Code of Quebec. Cause is normally disciplinary in nature and does not include an employer’s need to reduce its workforce for economic reasons. Unionized employees whose employment is terminated for either displacement or economic reasons may file grievances under the applicable collective agreement.
The law provides a further remedy to almost all nonunionized employees with over two years’ service whose employment is terminated other than for lack of work. It permits employees to file unjust dismissal complaints with the Labour Standards Commission challenging the termination of their employment. Following receipt of a complaint, the commission normally attempts to mediate a settlement. If this is unsuccessful, a commissioner of the Labour Relations Board hears the complaint. If the dismissal is found to be unjust, the commissioner may order the employee’s reinstatement and/or award damages for lost wages for all or part of the time between dismissal and reinstatement.
Plant Closings and Mass Layoffs
When an employer under provincial jurisdiction in Quebec terminates the employment of 10 or more employees in the same establishment within two months or lays off 10 or more employees in the same establishment for over six months, it must give advance notice to the Ministère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité Sociale (Ministry of Employment and Social Solidarity) and the Commission des normes du travail (Labour Standards Commission). A copy of the notice must be posted in the workplace and sent to any union representing employees who are affected. The notice period varies from eight weeks when the number of affected employees is 10 to 99 to 12 weeks when the number is 100 to 299 and 16 weeks when the number is 300 or more.
When requested by the ministry, the commission, a union or a representative of the affected employees, the employer must participate in the work of a joint reclassification assistance committee. The committee is charged with finding ways of minimizing the impact of the termination on the affected employees and facilitating their reentry into the labor market. Should an employer not give the notice required, it must pay the affected employees their regular earnings for the required notice period, in addition to any entitlement employees may have for notice or pay in lieu based on their length of service with the employer.
Payment on Termination
If the employer fails to give an employee adequate notice of termination, it must compensate the employee in an amount equal to the wages the employee would have received between the date on which notice should have been given and the date employment ends.
Unemployment Insurance
Unemployment insurance is a federal responsibility under the Employment Insurance Act, which provides benefits to temporarily unemployed workers and to employees taking maternity, paternity or parental leave.
Both employers and employees make contributions at a rate set at an amount per C$100 of insurable earnings, which is reviewed annually. Insurable earnings, on which unemployment insurance premiums and payments are based, are also revised annually.
Employees must generally have worked from 420 to 700 hours in the year preceding the claim to be eligible for unemployment insurance benefits.
Reference Citations
Termination by Employer: An Act Respecting Labour Standards, CQLR ch. N-1.1 §§ 82-83, 124
Plant Closings and Mass Layoffs: An Act Respecting Labour Standards, CQLR ch. N-1.1 §§ 84.0.1 - 84.0.4
Payment on Termination: An Act Respecting Labour Standards, CQLR ch. N-1.1 § 83
Unemployment Insurance: Employment Insurance Act S.C. 1996, ch 23
Personal Taxes
Residency Requirements
An individual is considered a resident for tax purposes if he or she has residential ties in Canada. Residential ties include a home or personal property, a spouse or common-law partner and dependents and social or economic ties.
An individual without residential ties to Canada may also be deemed resident if temporarily present in Canada for 183 days or more in a tax year.
Taxable Income
Individuals present in Canada during a tax year are subject to Canadian income tax on their worldwide income from all sources. A nonresident is generally only subject to Canadian tax on income from Canadian sources.
Tax Rates
The federal rates and bands differ from those of the provinces and territories, and the provincial and territorial rates and bands likewise differ among themselves. The provincial income tax rates in Quebec range from 15 percent to 25.75 percent.
The Employment Insurance contribution rate for employees in Quebec is 1.18 percent. Employers in Quebec contribute 1.652 percent to EI program.
Reference Citations
Tax Rates: Government of Canada: Income Tax Rates for Individuals; Revenu Quebec: Income Tax Rates
Taxable Income: Taxation Act, ch. I-3
Residency Requirements: Taxation Act, ch. I-3, § 8
Web References
In French unless otherwise noted.
Law and Regulation
An Act Respecting Labour Standards (English)
CanLII (English)
Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, CQLR (English)
Employment Insurance Act (English)
Labour Code (English)
Pay Equity Act (English)
Taxation Act (English)
Government Websites and Publications
Commission des droits de la personne et de la Jeunesse (English)
Human Rights Tribunal (English)
Commission de l’équité salariale
Commission des relations du travail
Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (English)
The Quebec Pension Plan (English