Employment laws continually develop and change in Canada through legal decisions and legislative intervention, making compliance particularly difficult for Canadian employers and companies with Canadian business operations. Businesses operating in more than one province must comply with the laws of each province in which they do business, and depending on a business’s industry, both federal and provincial governments may have jurisdiction over employment matters.
Faced with the challenge of determining which laws apply and assuring compliance, clients retain Blakes for advice. Our leading Employment Law lawyers are highly experienced and skilled at managing the interplay of regulations and ensuring all legal requirements are met.
Our clients are from a range of industries and include manufacturers, publishers, financial institutions, transportation companies, communications organizations, e-commerce and internet companies, as well as construction companies, municipalities and cultural institutions. Representing these clients provides us with insight into their specific practices, their business challenges and the employment issues they face. Applying that insight and our knowledge of the regulations and governing laws ensures that our clients receive effective, proactive counsel.
Blakes lawyers advise on a wide variety of related workplace issues. These include human rights, pay equity, outsourcing arrangements, workers’ compensation, privacy, occupational health and safety, and workplace safety and insurance. Always at the forefront of new developments in employment practices, policies and laws, we often provide manager training programs to ensure that our clients also stay current.
Moreover, employers seek our advice on establishing, implementing and enforcing personnel and other workplace policies. They also request our guidance on employment law issues, including hiring, drafting employment contracts, managing employment relationships, employment standards matters, disability accommodations, employee discipline, and termination and post-termination matters.
When employment disputes arise, clients rely on our employment litigation expertise. We have successfully litigated and mediated a wide range of disputes, including the enforcement of confidentiality, non-solicitation and non-competition agreements and wrongful dismissal claims, among others. Blakes lawyers have represented clients before employment standards tribunals and other regulatory bodies as well as in courts at all levels throughout Canada.
