Global HR & Payroll

For many US companies, the first step to their global expansion is to our northern neighbors in Canada. Canada is the top market for US exports and is growing as a hub for international trade exporting to China, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Mexico. 

Businesses that expand to Canada benefit from the country’s low corporate income tax and tax codes. Among the G7 countries, Canada has the lowest business tax and a lower overall tax rate than the United States. These favorable laws have helped Canada become one of the best places to grow a business.

To get the most from Canadian tax codes, you need an international specialist as your partner. That’s where IRIS’s comprehensive HR and payroll services can help. 

Canadian employees are subject to the same withholding, remitting, and reporting obligations no matter if their employer is a Canadian resident or not. All employers are responsible for calculating and deducting for the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contribution, the Employment Insurance premium, federal income tax, and provincial and territorial income tax.

IRIS provides comprehensive coverage for all of your Canadian employees, ensuring that payroll tax calculations are done correctly every time, no matter how complex they might be. 

An employment contract is an essential part of hiring in Canada. The purpose of it is to create a written, detailed description of the job and  clearly establish the employer’s responsibilities as well as the worker’s rights. It should include work schedules outlining the maximum number of hours of work per week, and how overtime will be paid and calculated, if applicable.

While the government of Canada is not involved in the contract, it is the responsibility and expectation that the employer will meet all federal and provincial regulations within the contract. Creating a Canadian employment contract is complex, but with IRIS, we’ll handle it for you. 

Mandatory employee benefits in Canada include:

• Canadian Pension Plan (CPP)
• Old Age Security (OAS) 
• Legislated leave
• Parental leave
• Maternity benefits
• Employment insurance

Most jobs also offer supplemental employee benefits. These are not required, but in more professional settings, they are considered standard benefits to be competitive in the Canadian market. 

Supplemental benefits can include:

• Retirement programs
• Extended health care benefits
• Gym subsidies
• Health Coaching
• Online digital health and fitness platforms
• Stress reduction programs and mental health training

IRIS helps track and manage those benefits, ensuring you are compliant with all Canadian regulations. 

The province of Ontario is the southernmost in Canada, and the most populated. It includes the cities of Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Kitchener, London, and Oshawa. 

Ontario is Canada’s leading manufacturing province, and accounts for over half of all Canada’s manufacturing. Because Ontario is next to the Great Lakes, it is a transportation hub and link between North America and the world.

The province of Ontario has extra tax and labor laws in addition to federal regulations. The most notable is the Employment Standards Act (ESA), but to avoid fines and fees, you should also be aware of other legislations like the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act of 1997, and the Pay Equity Act. 

Quebec is the largest province by area in Canada, and the second largest by population. Key cities in Quebec include Montreal, Quebec City, and Trois-Rivieres.

Quebec was originally a French colony, and its official language is French. This is important when doing business in Quebec because all documents are expected to be translated and available in French, just as you would expect to translate all files, contracts, and information to Portuguese if you were doing business in Portugal. 

Quebec has many unique payroll, labor, and tax laws, which sometimes even supersede federal regulations. For example, normally employers are required to collect insurance deductions for the Canada Pension Plan(CPP), but Quebec citizens are not required to have CPP deductions because they must contribute to the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) which is collected at a different rate than the CPP. 

Due to The Quebec Labour Standards Act, Quebec citizens are provided different benefits including differences in vacation pay, vacation time, records retention, termination, and labor laws.