If you have employees, it is highly recommended you have someone well-versed in payroll process your employees’ pay. There are many factors in payroll, including calculation of payroll deductions, vacation pay, how to treat time-off, properly filing ROEs, filing T4s at year-end, and       many other complicating factors. Making mistakes in payroll can prove to be unforigiving, as employee may become upset if they are shortpaid, or CRA may penalize you for not remitting deductions on time, as an example.

In most cases, yes, you will need both. Payroll is very complicated and requires a lot of attention to detail. A Payroll Software like RisePeople or Ceridian Dayforce, helps you organize important payroll information, process payroll on time and help file T4s and ROEs. However, a Payroll Software requires someone to PROCESS the payroll, where we step in. The person processing the payroll MUST understand how payroll is calculated, how to treat special situations (e.g. processing a pay advance or entering a retroactive pay), and must always review ROEs and T4s prior to filing. The software is only as good as the person who is processing payroll is. That is why it’s important to have a good Payroll Software AND Payroll Firm.

Short answer is yes. Every employer needs to comply with their applicable employment standards and workplace legislation. However, small employers typically don’t need to consult with an HR professional frequently. Instead, an HR professional can be consulted when notable events take place, for example prior to terminating an employee, or when new workplace legislation is introduced or even when you’re looking to introduce a new policy in the workplace. While some business owners may see HR as an added unnecessary expense, they also run the risk of paying significantly more in damage sand legal fees should an employer be found to have been non-compliant with workplace legislation or employment standards. Consulting an HR professional should instead be seen as a proactive approach to workplace compliance.

Yes, we handle both employee terminations and disciplining employees. We often recommend that an HR Firm like us handle those types of meetings, as it significantly de-escalates the atmosphere. Employees tend to react better when they are dealing with a third party rather than the business owner or a direct supervisor.

We typically do an assessment at the beginning of our engagement to assess compliance and point out any problem areas. In the event of non-compliance, we provide recommendations on how to become compliant and have many templates for workplace policies and contracts.

No – only a lawyer can represent you and provide legal advise pertaining to your specific matter. We may assist you with navigating through a situation up until litigation, but we always recommend retaining legal counsel to advise on issues pertaining to litigation. We work with a number   of recognized employment law firms across Canada and are happy to recommend those firms to our clients.