Employment Agreement (Fixed Term) (Ontario) by OLL
This template establishes a fixed-term employment relationship in Ontario, Canada, for a role with a specific end date. It includes critical early-termination clauses designed to protect the employer from paying out the entire balance of the contract's term if the relationship ends early.
This document comes from OLL's library of vetted legal templates
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT [FIXED TERM]
This template is for the direct employment of an individual in Ontario for a defined term with a stated end date. It is employer-side: drafted to be offered by the Employer. This is not the indefinite-term template with an end date added — the early-termination exposure described below is unique to a fixed term and is the reason this template exists separately. Not suitable for an independent contractor engagement (use independent-contractor-services), an indefinite role (use employment-full-time-indefinite), or a part-time role (use employment-part-time, which can itself be adapted to a fixed term if both apply — do not combine without legal review). Not suitable for use in Quebec.
Drafting notes appear in italics and are to be deleted before execution. Square brackets mark information to be filled in. Delete any inapplicable optional clauses and renumber before execution.
⚠️ Ending a fixed term early without an enforceable clause can cost more than terminating an indefinite employee. At common law, a fixed-term employment contract is treated like any other fixed-term contract: if the Employer ends it before the stated end date without an enforceable early-termination clause, the default remedy is not reasonable notice — it is damages equal to the wages and benefits the Employee would have received for the entire remaining balance of the term, and Ontario appellate authority commonly cited for this proposition (Howard v. Benson Group Inc., 2016 ONCA 256, not independently verified in this template — VERIFY before relying on it) has been read as denying the Employer even the benefit of the Employee's duty to mitigate (find replacement work) unless the Agreement expressly says otherwise. A two-year fixed term ended in month three, with no valid early-termination clause, can expose the Employer to roughly twenty-one months of wages and benefits — far more than the statutory or common-law notice an indefinite employee in the same role would receive. Section 13 exists to prevent that outcome, but it only works if it is itself enforceable — see the next warning.
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About this template
What is this template?
This is a fixed-term employment contract for use specifically in Ontario. It contains a specialized termination clause designed to displace the common-law requirement to pay out the balance of the term upon early dismissal. It is not suitable for indefinite employment or independent contractor relationships.
When should you use it?
Use this template when hiring an individual in Ontario for a specific period with a known end date. For ongoing roles without a set end date, use the employment-full-time-indefinite agreement instead.
What's inside
| Clause | Name | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Term, Renewal and Non-Renewal | The relationship ends automatically on the [End Date] without notice or severance pay, unless the Parties agree to a renewal in writing. |
| 9 | Confidentiality | The Employee must keep non-public business information confidential during and after employment, including business plans and personal information about customers. |
| 10 | Intellectual Property | The Employer owns all Work Product created within the scope of employment and the Employee waives all moral rights. |
| 11 | Non-Solicitation | The Employee is prohibited from soliciting the Employer's employees or customers for a period of [Number] months after employment ends. |
| 13 | Early Termination | The Employer may terminate without cause by providing the ESA minimum or a specified [Number] of weeks of enhanced notice. |
| 15.1 | Governing Law | The laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein govern this Agreement. |
Who it's for
- an Ontario employer hiring an individual for a defined project or time-limited role
- an employer seeking to cap termination liability at the ESA minimum for a fixed-term contract
- parties in Ontario requiring a defined term with an automatic end date without statutory notice
How long it runs and how it's signed
Law it's drafted under
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