Brought to you by CFEE Canadian Foundation for Economic Education

Jobs / Business

When planning to come to Canada to live or work, note: You do not need to hire an immigration representative to apply for a visa or for Canadian citizenship; immigration representatives do not have special connections with Canadian government officials and cannot guarantee you a visa; only authorized officers at Canadian embassies, high commissions and consulates can decide whether or not to issue a visa; beware of internet scams and false websites.The official website of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is www.cic.gc.ca. Learn more about fraud by visiting www.immigration.gc.ca/fraud

Contracts/letter of agreement

Rather than working as an employee with a company, some people will “contract” their services to a company. In this case, an individual or the individual’s own company will sign a contract to do a certain job for a set amount of money.The company hiring the contracted worker/company will draw up a contract or letter of agreement that will describe the work to be done, the period of time the work will take, and the amount that will be paid. No deductions are made from the payment. No benefits are provided. It is a straight fee for service.This income must be reported to the tax department.

Seasonal employment

Most of Canada has distinct seasons, ranging from warm summers to cold winters.As a result, some jobs in Canada, particularly in some industries, are seasonal—meaning that the jobs are only available at certain times of the year. Examples are in the forestry industry, farming, tourism, fishing, and so on. If they qualify, people who work in seasonal jobs may be able to obtain employment insurance benefits when the jobs are not available.

Jobs: Prejudice and discrimination

It is possible that a person looking for a job may run into a situation where he or she is not hired because of “prejudice.” That is, an employer may not hire an individual who is of a certain race, skin colour, religion, and so on.This is not legal in Canada. Employers are not allowed to discriminate on the basis of such things as gender, sexual orientation, skin colour, racial background, religion, and so on. Learn more

Compassionate leave

It is possible, in some cases, for workers to receive compassionate leave if there is a death or serious illness in the family. Larger companies may have policies that will determine this. Such leave in smaller companies is usually determined by the business owner.Workers should find out about the company’s policy in case they face such a situation.The federal government has also established a program for compassionate leave to help support individuals who are assisting family members dealing with terminal illnesses.

Sick days

Most employers will allow employees to take a certain number of sick days each year. The employee still receives his or her pay for days missed due to illness. If the person is sick for more than the number of days allowed, the worker may lose pay for those days missed or be expected to use up vacation days. Most employers will be considerate if a family emergency occurs that requires the worker to take time off work. The employee should contact the employer if he or she is going to be absent. Learn more

Personal responsibilities

In the same way that a person has rights in Canada—as a worker and as a citizen— each person has responsibilities.This means following laws, treating others with respect, and participating productively in the community.

Current trends

If you are looking for a job, you probably want to start first with what you like to do and the career fields where you have skills and experience.At the same time, you will probably be interested in current trends, that is, the job areas that are growing and providing the most opportunity. Note that these can change, sometimes quite quickly. A number of web sites keep up-to-date lists of current job trends. Learn more See pages 219–220 for sites that help with job information.

Employer expectations

Employers will have some common expectations of employees.They will expect employees to be on time, dress appropriately, work productively, get along with work associates, show respect to work associates and customers and clients, and take an honest and responsible approach to work.They will expect employees to take proper care of equipment and materials, work safely and with a concern for the safety of others, learn on the job to improve, to get more experience, and to complete tasks on time.

Employment equity

Canada has laws to ensure that each person has an equal opportunity for employment. An employer cannot discriminate against a person because of his or her race, colour, creed, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. Many companies will have their own equity policies. Often these are on the company web site.

Pages