Free HR inspection-readiness tool for Canadian employers

Have you confirmed which employment-standards regime covers this workplace?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: A dated coverage decision, including the business activity and where work is performed.

Example: A local retail store records its province; an interprovincial carrier checks federal coverage.

Next step: Resolve jurisdiction with the appropriate employment-standards office before relying on numerical rules.

Have worker classifications and claimed exemptions been checked?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: Role descriptions and reasons for treating a person as an employee, contractor or exempt worker.

Example: Do not rely only on a job title such as manager or a contract saying independent contractor.

Next step: Review actual duties and working arrangements with the relevant authority or adviser.

Does your review include all employees and locations, not just head office?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: A current worker/location list; separate assessments where different regimes apply.

Example: Include part-time, temporary and remote employees in the review population.

Next step: Reconcile payroll, scheduling and employee lists and investigate omissions.

Can you retrieve employment terms and subsequent changes?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: Offer letters, contracts, wage-change notices and relevant agreements.

Example: The current pay rate can be traced to the dated change and payroll entry.

Next step: Collect the applicable documents without backdating or inventing historical records.

Can you reconcile actual hours worked with payroll?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: Time entries, corrections and payroll for the same sample pay periods.

Example: Compare a busy week and a normal week; include relevant training and remote work.

Next step: Investigate missing or inconsistent hours and assess whether pay corrections are needed.

Have pay rates been checked for the dates and employee categories involved?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: Dated rate checks and payroll settings, including any special rate category.

Example: A rate increase is checked against its effective date, not today’s rate applied to every historical period.

Next step: Verify the applicable official rate and correct affected payroll periods.

Can you explain and reproduce your overtime calculations?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: Hours, applicable threshold/exemption, rate and any valid banking or averaging arrangement.

Example: Keep the calculation alongside the agreement relied on; a signed agreement alone may not make an arrangement lawful.

Next step: Check the applicable rules before using banked time or an averaging arrangement.

Have schedules, breaks and rest arrangements been checked against applicable rules?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: Schedules and actual-work information, with any permitted exceptions recorded.

Example: A published schedule is compared with actual work, including last-minute changes.

Next step: Check the applicable scheduling/rest rules and investigate missed breaks.

Can employees access understandable pay statements and can you reproduce them?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: Sample pay statements and a check of required fields and access arrangements.

Example: An employee can privately access the statement rather than relying on a payroll administrator’s login.

Next step: Compare the statement with the official requirements and correct omissions.

Can you explain the legal basis and amount of each non-standard deduction?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: Deduction register, relevant authority and calculations.

Example: A uniform or shortage deduction is reviewed rather than assumed lawful because an employee signed a form.

Next step: Stop relying on unsupported deductions and obtain a specific review.

Can you trace amounts owing to amounts actually paid on time?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: Payroll totals, payment confirmations and unresolved payment exceptions.

Example: A rejected bank payment is followed through to successful payment.

Next step: Reconcile unpaid amounts and check the applicable payment deadlines.

Do vacation time, vacation pay and outstanding balances agree?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: Vacation-year basis, time taken, wages used and amounts paid or outstanding.

Example: Track vacation time separately from vacation pay; paying money does not by itself document time off.

Next step: Reconcile both records and check applicable service-based entitlements.

Can you explain holiday eligibility, pay and any substituted day?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: Holiday dates, eligibility facts, calculation inputs and applicable substitution records.

Example: A holiday worked and an ordinary holiday off are reviewed as different cases.

Next step: Check the jurisdiction’s rules for the specific holiday and work arrangement.

Can you show how leave requests are assessed, recorded and kept confidential?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: A leave register, decision process and controlled access to permitted supporting documents.

Example: Keep sensitive supporting documents out of a general team attendance spreadsheet.

Next step: Review the applicable leave and evidence rules; do not routinely demand unnecessary medical details.

Have layoffs and employment endings received a case-specific review?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: Dates, notices, calculations, payment records and advice where needed.

Example: Statutory minimum notice is not assumed to settle all contractual or common-law obligations.

Next step: Obtain a review before acting; check final pay, vacation and any applicable severance separately.

Does your retention schedule use the correct record type and starting date?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: A retention schedule covering employment standards and other applicable laws or legal holds.

Example: A period measured after employment ends is not treated as a period measured after each pay run.

Next step: Use the jurisdiction note below; check other laws and legal holds before deleting records.

Can a backup person retrieve the evidence if your usual payroll contact is absent?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: An access test and a named backup role, without sharing passwords.

Example: Retrieve an older pay period from the payroll provider before you need it urgently.

Next step: Test retrieval and arrange appropriate access and exports.

Do you have a process for responding to an inspection request?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: A responsible contact, request log and deadline-tracking process.

Example: Confirm the officer’s identity through an official channel, record the request and preserve relevant records.

Next step: Respond within the actual notice requirements; ask the issuing office about unclear requests.

Are identified problems assigned, corrected and checked again?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: An action log showing the issue, owner, correction evidence and follow-up.

Example: A payroll-setting fix is tested against a later pay run rather than marked complete immediately.

Next step: Assign an owner and target date below. Suggested priorities are not statutory deadlines.

Have special occupation or industry arrangements been verified separately?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: Applicable exemptions, permits, variances and agreements with their conditions.

Example: Construction, agriculture, transport and professional roles can require different checks.

Next step: Obtain the specific rule and confirm that every condition for relying on it is met.

Have the collective agreement and correct dispute/enforcement route been checked?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: Current agreement and a documented review of statutory interaction.

Example: Do not assume either that the agreement removes all standards or that the ordinary complaint route always applies.

Next step: Review the agreement and jurisdiction-specific enforcement provisions.

Have young-worker age, duties, hours and any consent/permit requirements been reviewed?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: A role-specific age and permitted-work review, without entering birth dates into this tool.

Example: A permitted daytime retail role is not treated as approval for hazardous overnight duties.

Next step: Check the applicable young-worker restrictions before assigning work.

Have you identified the foreign-worker program and its separate employer obligations?

Preparation check, not a finding that every example record is mandatory. Confirm applicable requirements and exceptions using the official source.

Evidence to organize: Program identification and a separate review of offers, conditions and required records.

Example: Do not apply LMIA-program requirements automatically to every open-work-permit holder.

Next step: For the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, consult the linked employer-compliance guidance; verify other programs separately.

Federal (Canada Labour Code Part III)

Start/end-of-employment records: at least 36 months after termination. The records listed in subsection 24(2): at least three years after the work. Additional records have their own triggers. Federal public service is not ordinary Part III coverage.

Alberta

Alberta requires employment records to be kept for three years. Pay statements show regular/overtime hours and rates, separate earnings components, deductions and time off instead of overtime.

British Columbia

Payroll records must be in English, kept at the principal place of business in B.C. and retained for four years after creation. Where there is no physical B.C. business location, records still need to be available for production.

Manitoba

Generally keep records for three years after creation. Address, birth-date and wage-change records are kept for three years after employment ends. Regular and overtime hours are recorded separately and daily.

New Brunswick

Keep payroll records in New Brunswick for at least 36 months, including the applicable period after employment ends. Include hours, pay, deductions, vacation, holidays, leaves and employment-ending records.

Newfoundland and Labrador

Check the official records section for employee details, employment dates, wage rates, daily hours and statements of earnings. Confirm the retention requirement and any occupation-specific exception with Labour Standards before disposing of records.

Nova Scotia

Keep employment records at the main place of business for at least 36 months after the work. Include hours, pay, vacation, leaves and employment-ending records. Recruitment-fee records also have specific requirements.

Northwest Territories

Maintain accurate employee records and retain them for at least two years after each record is made. They must be available for inspection and production. Federal and territorial government employees have different coverage.

Nunavut

Keep payroll records for at least two years after each record is made. Record hours daily and retain pay, deductions, vacation, holiday and termination records. This source is used for records only, not current wage rates.

Ontario

Retention differs by record type. Do not apply one blanket period to all records. Check the relevant subsection for hours, wage statements, vacation records, policies and job-posting records. Required records must be readily available for inspection.

Prince Edward Island

Keep complete payroll records at the principal place of business in P.E.I. for 36 months after the employee last works for the employer. Section 39 also sets a seven-day response period for an inspector/Board request unless more time is allowed.

Saskatchewan

For current employees, keep the most recent five years of records; keep records an additional two years after they leave. Keep modified-work-arrangement agreements for five years after they end. Include start/end times, breaks and schedules.

Yukon

Keep employment records at the principal place of business in Yukon for 12 months after the work or services. Other laws can require longer retention. Government and collective-agreement coverage requires separate checking.