The HR moments that don't fit in a policy manual.

Hiring your first employee turns a business into an employer overnight — payroll accounts, statutory deductions, and legal obligations all begin the moment someone accepts. Here's the order that gets it right the first time.

1. 1

   Register as an employer

   Register for a CRA payroll program account before the first paycheque goes out. You'll need it to remit deductions and issue a T4 at year-end — it can't be backfilled after the fact without complications.

2. 2

   Decide employee vs. contractor honestly

   The CRA and the courts look at control, ownership of tools, financial risk, and integration into your business — not what the contract calls the relationship. Misclassifying an employee as a contractor is one of the most expensive mistakes a growing business makes.

3. 3

   Put the offer and employment agreement in writing

   A written offer letter and employment agreement, signed before the start date, is what actually protects you if the relationship doesn't work out. Verbal understandings rarely hold up when it matters.

4. 4

   Set up payroll and statutory deductions

   CPP, EI, and income tax withholding start with the first pay run. Getting this right from day one is far less work than correcting it retroactively.

5. 5

   Register for workplace safety insurance

   Most provinces require workplace safety insurance (WSIB in Ontario, and its equivalents elsewhere) in place before an employee's first day — not arranged after an incident.

6. 6

   Build a real onboarding plan

   The first 90 days set the tone for the whole employment relationship. See the New Hire Onboarding Checklist under Templates & Checklists for the working version we use with clients.

How the first two days are handled shapes whether an investigation is defensible — and whether people feel safe reporting again. Here's the sequence that protects everyone involved.

1. 1

   Acknowledge the complaint promptly, in writing

   A prompt, professional acknowledgment signals the concern is being taken seriously without committing to a conclusion before the facts are gathered.

2. 2

   Assess immediate safety and separation needs

   Decide whether interim measures — a schedule change, an altered reporting line — are needed while the investigation proceeds, without appearing to prejudge the outcome for either party.

3. 3

   Determine who investigates

   An internal HR lead can handle it where there's no conflict of interest. Bring in an external, arm's-length investigator where there's a power imbalance, a senior leader involved, or real risk the outcome gets challenged.

4. 4

   Preserve documentation immediately

   Secure relevant emails, messages, schedules, and witness names before memories fade or evidence gets altered or deleted.

5. 5

   Set confidentiality expectations honestly

   Explain confidentiality will be protected as much as possible, without promising a blanket guarantee you can't legally deliver — an investigation sometimes requires sharing limited details to be fair to everyone involved.

6. 6

   Set a realistic timeline — and stick close to it

   A delayed investigation erodes trust faster than a thorough one that takes appropriate time. Communicate the expected timeline and update people if it shifts.

A PIP that's really just a paper trail toward termination rarely survives scrutiny — and one that's a genuine attempt to help rarely needs to become a termination. Here's how to make it the real thing, either way.

1. 1

   Name the specific, observable gap

   Tie the plan to measurable performance or specific conduct — not general dissatisfaction like "attitude problem," which can't be objectively assessed or fairly improved against.

2. 2

   Set clear targets and a defined timeline

   Typically 30, 60, or 90 days depending on the role and the nature of the gap. Vague goals produce vague outcomes on both sides.

3. 3

   Specify the support you'll actually provide

   Training, coaching, check-in frequency. A plan that lists only what the employee must do, with no support offered, reads as pretextual if it's ever reviewed.

4. 4

   Schedule regular check-ins

   Not just a kickoff and a final meeting. Regular touchpoints catch a plan that's working — or one that isn't — early enough to matter.

5. 5

   Document consistently throughout

   Notes written contemporaneously, during the plan, carry far more weight than a summary reconstructed at the end.

6. 6

   Decide honestly at the end point

   Extend, close it successfully, or move to next steps — and follow through on what the plan actually said would happen if targets weren't met.

Most wrongful dismissal exposure isn't about whether to terminate — it's about how. Here's what separates a clean exit from an expensive one.

1. 1

   Confirm what you're actually terminating for

   Cause or without cause — the standard of proof and the resulting obligations are entirely different. Treating a without-cause exit like a cause termination is one of the fastest ways to invite a claim.

2. 2

   Calculate real notice exposure, not just the statutory minimum

   The Employment Standards Act sets a legal floor, not the actual risk. Common-law reasonable notice — based on age, tenure, position, and the local job market — is frequently well beyond it.

3. 3

   Prepare the letter and final pay before the meeting

   Not after. Walking in without the paperwork ready signals a decision made on the fly rather than one properly considered.

4. 4

   Keep the meeting short, respectful, and unambiguous

   Reasons don't need to be exhaustively justified in the room — the documentation built beforehand does that job. The meeting itself should be brief and humane.

5. 5

   Plan the practical details in advance

   Access revocation timing, company property return, final pay, and Record of Employment issuance — all decided before the conversation happens, not scrambled afterward.

6. 6

   Avoid the two most common mistakes

   Waiting too long once a decision is genuinely made, and terminating during a protected leave or shortly after a complaint — which invites a reprisal allegation regardless of the real, unrelated reason.

Once a workplace crosses the employee-count threshold that triggers a JHSC requirement, setting the committee up correctly the first time avoids redoing it under pressure later.

1. 1

   Confirm your requirement and structure

   The threshold and required composition vary by jurisdiction — confirm exactly what applies to your workplace before recruiting members, not after.

2. 2

   Recruit worker representatives properly

   The process — election, or selection by the union where one exists — is often legally prescribed, not left to employer discretion. Getting this step wrong can invalidate the committee.

3. 3

   Provide required certification and training

   At minimum, certified members typically need recognized health and safety training before the committee can perform its full legal function.

4. 4

   Set a meeting cadence and terms of reference

   Most jurisdictions expect a minimum meeting frequency, with minutes kept and, in many cases, posted for employees to see.

5. 5

   Give the committee something real to do

   Workplace inspections, incident reviews, hazard reporting. A committee that only meets on paper neither reduces risk nor satisfies the intent behind the legislation.

6. 6

   Track actions to completion and report back

   A hazard identified and never resolved undermines both workplace safety and the committee's credibility with the people it represents.

"We're flexible" isn't a policy — and the gaps show up exactly when something goes wrong. These are the decisions worth making deliberately instead of by default.

1. 1

   Define where "work" legally happens

   An employee working from a different province can change which employment standards and tax rules apply. This needs an answer before it happens, not after payroll finds out.

2. 2

   Set expectations for hours, availability, and overtime

   Remote work blurs when someone is genuinely "on the clock," but overtime obligations don't disappear just because no one's watching the office.

3. 3

   Address equipment, expenses, and workspace requirements

   Decide who provides what, and clarify what health and safety obligations reasonably extend to a home workspace.

4. 4

   Clarify how performance is actually measured

   Remote management that relies on visibility instead of outcomes tends to fail first — and fastest.

5. 5

   Decide the hybrid cadence deliberately

   "Optional" in-office days have a way of quietly becoming mandatory through social pressure. Decide which one you actually mean, and say so plainly.

6. 6

   Revisit the policy on a schedule

   Remote work norms and the legislation around them are both still evolving. A policy written once and never reviewed ages badly — put a review date on it.