Find a Certified Calgary Immigration Lawyer
Find a Certified Calgary Immigration Lawyer
Canadian employers hiring foreign workers must be careful not to be in violation of Canadian immigration laws. Many employers don’t realize that after they have acquired a foreign worker through a labour market opinion (LMO) that they must then comply with the conditions set out in the LMO or face possible negative repercussions from Service Canada and from Citizenship and Immigration Canada. In fact, a foreign worker obtaining a work permit through an LMO should have conditions of employment that closely match – and ideally should be identical to – those stated in the LMO. Such conditions include, who the employer is, the hours per week of employment, the compensation for employment, the work duties involved in the employment, the title of employment, and the location of employment.
For example, suppose I am an employer who hires a temporary foreign worker to work in one of my Tim Hortons coffee shops. This employee has obtained a work permit that was acquired through an LMO from Service Canada. He is hired as a full time cashier at my downtown Calgary restaurant. According to the LMO, he is to be paid $ 9.50 per hour and given at least 37.5 hours per week. Obviously, I might expect to get in trouble if I pay this employee $ 9.00 and drop his work time to 20 hours per week. However, let’s suppose I really value the work that this employee has done at my downtown Calgary Tim Hortons. I am in the process of expanding my business and have recently opened another Tim Hortons in Red Deer, Alberta. While the Calgary Tim Hortons is owned by my company ABC Alberta Inc., the new Red Deer Tim Hortons is owned by another company that I’ve set up, XYZ Alberta Inc. I value this employee’s contributions to my business so much that I am willing to make him a manager and transfer him to my new Red Deer location. As part of the promotion, he is to be paid $ 18.00 per hour.
As an employer, I might think that I have done nothing wrong here. I haven’t violated provincial employment standards legislation. I am paying the employee a fair wage and maintaining his full time employment, and have even rewarded him for his hard work! What’s wrong with that? Nothing from a moral point of view, but from the point of view of Canadian immigration law, this hypothetical employer is making the mistake that far too many employers make when hiring temporary foreign workers – he’s changing the conditions of employment without the prior approval of the Canadian Government.
Doing so violates Canadian immigration law and could result in the employer being prevented by Service Canada from hiring temporary foreign workers for up to two years. Also, the employer could be published on Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s list of employers who are banned from hiring temporary foreign workers. If this employer relies heavily on the use of temporary foreign workers, as is the case with many Canadian businesses, his business could be in serious jeopardy. Furthermore, being listed on Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s website as an employer that is prohibited from hiring temporary foreign workers could be embarrassing to say the least, and quite possibly harmful to the employer’s business reputation.
Better safe than sorry. Get prior approval before changing a temporary foreign worker’s conditions of employment, even if for the better.
Whether you are an employer or a temporary foreign worker, a certified Calgary immigration lawyer can assist you to avoid violation of Canadian immigration laws. Whether you require an immigration lawyer or other legal services in Calgary, call Russ Weninger at (403) 303-3208 today.