Employer Compliance
As a Canadian employer hiring foreign workers, compliance is the foundation of your ability to hire and retain international talent. With recent changes to immigration policies in 2024, the government is applying increased scrutiny on firms and enforcing penalties.
Employer compliance is like building a bridge - you’re connecting your business to a global talent pool, but that bridge has to be sturdy. Every document, every condition, and every step in the process reinforces that structure. If anything’s out of place, the entire thing wobbles and puts your organization at risk for penalties for non-compliance.
What Happens if You are Audited?
With reduced targets for temporary foreign workers and a sharper focus on enforcement, the government has increased inspections and imposed harsher penalties for violations. If your firm is audited, expect questions about how you’ve upheld the terms of your worker’s employment. Are you paying them the promised salary? Are the working conditions as described? Even small deviations can trigger fines of up to $100,000 per violation or bans from hiring foreign workers for up to 10 years.
Audits aren’t just a hypothetical risk. They’re happening more frequently and without much notice. Inspectors can request anything from payroll records to evidence that your workplace adheres to health and safety regulations.
Staying Ahead of the Curve
Keeping compliance might sound like a complicated burden, but the right legal professional will help you set up a system to help you stay organized. Start with clear, organized record-keeping. Keep contracts, pay stubs, job descriptions, and timesheets to make sure you are ready when asked for specific documents. It’s also important to keep track of program-specific requirements if you’re using LMIA-exempt pathways like the IMP.
Changes to an employee’s duties, hours, or location can trigger non-compliance, even if the change seems minor. Let’s say you hire a foreign worker as a chef in Vancouver, but business slows down, and you move them into a different role. Without amending the terms of their employment, you’ve violated the program’s conditions.
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CUSMA and Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Work Permits
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Types of Compliance
Employer compliance means following the rules set out under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and the International Mobility Program (IMP) to ensure that foreign workers are treated fairly and that Canadian labour standards are upheld. This also means adhering to reciprocal agreements and meeting LMIA-exemption requirements for specific pathways.
Compliance doesn’t stop when the work permit is issued; your organization will need to demonstrate that you’ve met your obligations throughout the duration of the visa.
For example, under the TFWP, you need to:
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Pay foreign workers the wage you promised in your LMIA application
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Keep accurate records, including contracts and timesheets
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Ensure the working conditions match what you outlined in your application
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