What Must Be in an Employment Contract for Federally Regulated Employees?

The written employment statement, step by step

Federally regulated employers (think banks, airlines, railways, interprovincial trucking, and telecommunications companies) are covered exclusively by the Canada Labour Code, no matter which province the workplace sits in. The Code does not use the phrase “employment contract” and does not prescribe a single required contract template. What it does require is a written employment statement, a document (or set of documents) containing specific prescribed information about the job. Here is what the law requires, in the order an employer needs to act on it.

1. Provide the written statement within 30 days of the start date. Under s. 253.2(1) of the Canada Labour Code, an employer must, within the first 30 days of an employee’s employment, provide the employee with a written statement containing the information relating to their employment that is prescribed by regulation.

2. Make sure the statement covers every item the regulations require. The Canada Labour Standards Regulations (s. 3.1) set out what has to be in it, including:

   • the names of the parties to the employment relationship
   • the employee’s job title and a brief description of their duties and responsibilities
   • the date employment commences
   • the term of the employment
   • the duration of any probationary period
   • a description of the necessary qualifications for the position
   • a description of any required training for the position
   • the employee’s hours of work, including how those hours are calculated and the rules on overtime
   • the rate of wages or salary and the rate of overtime pay

3. Use one document or several, as long as everything is covered. Government of Canada guidance on employer compliance confirms the required information can be provided through a combination of written documents, for example an offer letter that sets out job title and wages, paired with a separate policy document that covers hours of work and overtime rules. There is no rule against splitting the required particulars across more than one file.

4. Update the statement within 30 days of any change. Under s. 253.2(2), if any of the information in the last statement provided to the employee changes (a promotion, a wage adjustment, a change in hours), the employer must give the employee an updated statement within 30 days of that change.

5. Keep a copy for 36 months after the employment ends, and hand over copies on request. Section 253.2(3) requires the employer to retain a copy of any employment statement for 36 months after the employee’s employment ends, and to provide the employee with additional copies if they ask for one.

Before you start: the transition rule for existing employees

The 30-day rule in step 1 applies cleanly to anyone hired after the requirement came into force. For employees who were already on staff before that date, Government of Canada guidance says employers had 90 days from July 9, 2023 to bring their documentation up to date. If a federally regulated employer took on staff before that date and has not yet produced a compliant written statement for them, that transition window has already closed, and the underlying obligation to have the statement on file still stands.

What this does and does not tell you about termination clauses, restrictive covenants, or other contract terms

The employment statement requirement is about the particulars the law says an employee must be told in writing (who they work for, what the job is, what it pays, and how hours are calculated). It is a floor of disclosure, not a complete employment contract in the way many businesses think of one. Other terms that commonly appear in employment agreements, such as termination provisions that limit notice to statutory minimums, confidentiality clauses, or intellectual property assignment, are shaped by ordinary contract principles and by other parts of the Canada Labour Code (for example, the Code’s separate notice-of-termination and severance provisions), rather than by s. 253.2 itself. Employers assembling a full agreement typically build the s. 3.1 particulars into a broader written contract rather than treating the statement as a standalone form.