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US Company doing work in Canada
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US Company doing work in Canada
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We are a retail general contractor specializing in retail tenant improvement. We remodel and improve existing retail stores such as Victoria's Secret and bath and body works. We are looking to start b
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Forums » Topic Forums » Recruiting & Staffing » US Company doing work in Canada
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US Company doing work in Canada
posted at 3/4/2009 8:39 AM EST
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Posts: 3
First: 3/4/2009 Last: 3/19/2009 |
We are a retail general contractor specializing in retail tenant improvement. We remodel and improve existing retail stores such as Victoria's Secret and bath and body works. We are looking to start building retail stores in Canada. We have been having a difficult time getting our current US superintendents work permits to do the work in Canada. We are now looking into hiring Canadians to live and work in Canada for us. I have some questions regarding this process:
1. Do we pay in Canadian dollars? Is direct deposit available? 2. What taxes do we deduct from their pay checks? 3. Do we have to offer them all the same health benefits that we offer our U.S employees? 4. Is there anything else we need to know? Thank you for your help. |
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US Company doing work in Canada
posted at 3/4/2009 8:58 AM EST
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Posts: 3870
First: 2/12/2002 Last: 11/2/2009 |
Not sure I understand the difficulties getting work visas for Canada. Doesn't the NAFTA TN visa work both ways? Present an offer letter with a passport at the border and instant visa?
My information on this must be dated.... |
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US Company doing work in Canada
posted at 3/5/2009 1:59 AM EST
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Posts: 1771
First: 10/24/2002 Last: 9/14/2011 |
NAFTA visas don't work for regular employees working in Canada, and they probably don't work for American employees doing extended work (i.e., more than a few days) in Canada.
To answer your questions, yes you'll have to pay your Canadian employees in Canadian dollars, you'll have to tax them according to Canadian tax laws, and you'll have to remit those taxes to the Canadian tax agency. This is just as complicated as it is in the US and therefore cannot possible be explained in detail here. Google "Canada Revenue Agency" for complete details. And yes, we do have banks in Canada. In fact our banks invented the direct deposit pay system. This system has been (and still is) widely used in Canada since the early 1970s. Employers are legally allowed to make direct deposit pay mandatory for their employees. You can't offer your Canadian employees the same health benefits as your US employees, even if you wanted to. Your US carriers won't cover them, and anyway, Canadian people have complete (from broken toes to cancer care and everything in between) government-run health care that all employers pay for via a mandatory "health tax" and which is described on the website I pointed you to above. You will be legally required to provide Canadian employees with a whole slew of mandatory non-health benefits, such as annual paid vacations, paid holidays (in addition to the paid vacations), year-long unpaid maternity and parental leaves, and termination pay. These vary by Canadian province, so to find out more, google the name(s) of the province(s) your Canadian employees will be living/working in + these phrases: * employment standards * human rights * health and safety Finally, "at-will" employment is an illegal concept in Canada. In order to hire (if you want tips on how to hire, ask me) and pay employees in Canada, you will need a Canadian corporate presence. This sounds more complex than it really is - you just need to incorporate your business in Canada, get a business number from the CRA, and an address - a post office mailbox will suffice for this. I strongly recommend you retain the services of a Canadian lawyer with extensive experience in business, tax and employment law to set you up with all this stuff. |
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US Company doing work in Canada
posted at 3/5/2009 7:08 AM EST
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Posts: 3
First: 3/4/2009 Last: 3/19/2009 |
Thank you for your response, it was very helpful. We acutally have already established an office in Canada, have been licsensed in all provinces and have a GST and BN number. What if the Canadian employee is to travel all over Candada depending on where the job is? Which province laws do we use then? His home Province? The prvoince he is working in at the time? Our jobs last from 2-6 weeks and then he would move to a new one. |
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US Company doing work in Canada
posted at 3/12/2009 6:01 AM EDT
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Posts: 1
First: 3/12/2009 Last: 3/12/2009 |
Thank you thank you... for pointing out the direct deposit, healthcare, at will employment and benefits in Canada. I'm a Canadian transplanted to the US and I was shocked at the lack of understanding in the US and was equally as shocked at "At Will" employment. |
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US Company doing work in Canada
posted at 3/16/2009 12:28 PM EDT
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Posts: 1
First: 3/16/2009 Last: 3/16/2009 |
As a HR practitioner in Canada I would be happy to provide you with assistance in hiring Canadian workers. Its really not all that confusing with employment laws being somewhat similiar to that in the US. There are federal taxes deducted at source in addition to provincial taxes. The use of an outsourced payroll company will eliminate most of your pain.
The majority of labour laws reside in the province in which you have set up your business, however Workers Compensation regulations apply to the province in which the work is being conducted. |
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US Company doing work in Canada
posted at 3/17/2009 2:32 AM EDT
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Posts: 1771
First: 10/24/2002 Last: 9/14/2011 |
US and Canadian employment laws are very very different.
I also object to your trawling for business in these forums. I too am in the business of helping US employers set up Canadian operations (and vice versa) and while helping becca773 through her Canadian employee issues would have been an excellent consulting opportunity for me, good manners prevented me from approaching her on that level. There is a vendors section in this site; kindly restrict your appeals for new business to that section. |
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US Company doing work in Canada
posted at 3/19/2009 12:46 PM EDT
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Posts: 3
First: 3/4/2009 Last: 3/19/2009 |
We are starting to look more seriously into hiring Canadians. I would be more than happy to get all the information that I can from either of you. We are looking for very specific types of employees and we do not have any experience recruiting in Canada. you may email me directly at rebeccah@horizonretail.com thank you in advance. |
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