Welcome to Fauri Law’s Employment Law Practice Page!
We specialize in helping both employers and employees navigate the complex and ever-changing landscape of employment law in Canada.
Employer
As an employer, it is important to understand your obligations and responsibilities to your employees under Canadian law. We can provide guidance on matters such as employment contracts, independent contractors agreement, stock option, workplace policies, human rights issues, and terminations. We can also help you ensure compliance with federal and provincial legislation, such as the Canada Labour Code, Employment Standards Act, and Workplace Safety and Insurance Act.
Employees
For employees, we understand that issues in the workplace can be difficult and stressful. We can help you understand your rights and obligations under Canadian employment law, including issues related to discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, and workplace injuries. We can also assist with negotiating severance packages and other employment-related agreements.
Our team of experienced employment lawyers is dedicated to providing practical and cost-effective solutions for our clients. We are committed to keeping up-to-date with the latest legal developments in employment law, and we strive to provide personalized and responsive service to all our clients.
About Independent Contractors
As the “gig economy” continues to grow many businesses have brought on independent contractors to help them meet their needs. Independent contractors offer flexibility that many businesses need to meet their demands, but this employment structure is not void of challenges.
Fauri Law can draft consulting agreements that clarify the relationship between you and your independent contractors to ensure your business is protected. To learn more about the difference between employees and independent contractors, read our blog employees vs independent contractors.
Employee Stock Option Plans and Stock Option Agreements
Many high-growth startups have an employee stock option plan (Plan) to attract, incentivize and retain key staff. We can support you in the process to create your own. Plan and draft the required legal documents with share options. We can help with:
- Tailored employees stock option plan for your business
- Stock option agreements issued under the Plan.
- Organize the corporate share structure to allocate the share option pool to certain insiders.
Start Building Your Employment Agreement Now
Let’s build your Employment Agreement, Consulting Agreement, Stock Option, or Confidentiality and Proprietary Rights (IP Agreement). Visit our FL Dr@ft™ Automated Documents section of the FLConnect membership to get started today.
Get Started
Whether you are just getting your business off the ground or are looking to grow an established business, Fauri Law can help.Talk to us to discuss your needs and learn how we can put our experience to work for you and help your business thrive.
- Infrastructure Ontario‘s Request for Proposal Documents (RFPs) of the Go-Rail Expansion Project.
- Infrastructure Ontario‘s Go-Rail Expansion project agreement, a single fully integrated contract using the Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Maintain (DBFOM) model.
- Infrastructure Ontario’s Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) project agreements including term sheets, joint ventures, construction lease and option agreements with developers to jointly build mixed-use developments as part of Ontario Line subway project.
- Infrastructure Ontario‘s Real estate matters such as expropriations/ collect and compete, land acquisition and disposition.
- Fincantieri as part of the in-house legal team, in closing a US$5.6 billion naval shipbuilding contract signed with the Qatari Navy in 2016.
- Fincantieri as part of the in-house legal team, in the negotiation of US$ multi-billion procurement contracts, to equip and arm newly ordered warships, with suppliers such as Airbus, Raytheon, MBDA, Rolls-Royce, Thales and Leonardo.
- Engie, a French multinational power company, to structure the set- up and finance of a 150 MW solar power project in Jordan.
- Fincantieri, in closing a complex “Engineering, Procurement and Construction” contract for a military shipyard in the UAE and related joint venture contract for the management and operation.
- Fincantieri in a US$250 million refitting contracts of naval units (ISS, FOS, ILS) with several naval forces in the Middle East.
- Meridian Credit Union, A leading financial institution in Toronto, in a share subscription transaction in FinTech Startup that includes legal due diligence, software licensing, drafting of transactional documents and securities law compliance on matters such as private issuer and exemptions from prospectus.
- Motusbank, A federally chartered online bank in Toronto, in standardizing the terms and conditions of the bank’s of cloud-based services, including Saas agreements, software licensing agreements, click-wrap agreements, and other technology-related agreements for the use of the bank’s online users.
- A major shareholder in an airline company, to conclude a US$26 million share acquisition transaction from a large international private equity firm and related escrow agreements with Citi Bank London.
- Jordan Aviation’s major shareholder, to conclude a US$10 million share acquisition transaction.
- Jordan Aviation, in its set-up of an aviation fund of US$30 million. Established fund company, management and sponsor companies. Prepared investment management agreement and subscription agreement. Moreover, drafted dry lease contracts for aircrafts as part of the fund transaction
- National Holding in the setup, design and construction of Greenfield cable factory in Algeria.
- Damac Properties in providing contract drafting to construction, consultancy, plot and unit SPA related to US$ multi-billion real estate projects in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, KSA and the UK based on FIDIC, NEC and bespoke forms of contract.
- Damac Properties as part of the inhouse legal team, in the negotiation of a US$ 250 million construction contract with Arabtec Holding to construct Damac’s 90 floors tower (Ocean Heights in Dubai Marina) in Dubai, UAE.
What is the difference between an independent contractor and an employee?
The difference between an independent contractor and an employee is deceptively simple:
- An independent contractor works for a client while operating their own business. The contractor is said to be “in business on their own account” and party to a “contract for services.”
- An employee works as part of the business of an employer. The employee is said to be party to a “contract of service” or a “master and servant” contract.
Making this distinction in practice can be difficult. Some workers do not fit neatly into one category or the other. Courts and administrative tribunals have developed several tests aimed at answering the core question of whether a worker is “in business on their own account.” No single test is definitive and in each case a court or administrative tribunal will examine the “total relationship of the parties” to determine the true status of a worker. These tests are applied under the common law, and they are also used as a starting point in many employment-related statutes.
What are the Benefits and Risks of Independent Contractor for Client Companies?
Client companies who engage workers as independent contractors are freed of many of the legal duties they owe to employees. The working relationship is often more cost-effective and easier to administer as a result. However, some workplace protections do apply to independent contractor relationships in much the same way as they do to employees.
Independent contractor relationships carry the risk that the worker has been misclassified. If a worker has been treated as an independent contractor but is in fact an employee, client companies are exposed to many potential liabilities.