Employment Agreement (Full-Time, Indefinite) (Ontario) by OLL
This template is for the direct, indefinite-term, full-time employment of an individual in Ontario. It is employer-side: drafted to be offered by the Employer. It is not suitable for an independent contractor engagement (use independent-contractor-services), a fixed-term role (use employment-fixed-term), or a role with reduced or variable scheduled hours (use employment-part-time).
This document comes from OLL's library of vetted legal templates
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT [FULL-TIME, INDEFINITE TERM]
This template is for the direct, indefinite-term, full-time employment of an individual in Ontario. It is employer-side: drafted to be offered by the Employer. It is not suitable for an independent contractor engagement (use independent-contractor-services), a fixed-term role (use employment-fixed-term), or a role with reduced or variable scheduled hours (use employment-part-time). 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.
⚠️ This area of law is enforceability-volatile. Ontario courts read a termination clause as a single scheme. If any one provision anywhere in that scheme — the without-cause clause, the for-cause clause, or a clause elsewhere in the Agreement that touches termination — falls below the minimum standards set by the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the "ESA"), courts have held that the entire termination clause is void, including the parts that comply on their own, and a severability clause does not rescue it (Waksdale v. Swegon North America Inc., 2020 ONCA 391, leave to appeal to the SCC denied). If the clause is void, the Employee is not limited to the ESA minimums — they are entitled to reasonable notice at common law instead, which can be substantially larger (Machtinger v. HOJ Industries Ltd., [1992] 3 S.C.R. 1086). This is the single highest-risk drafting exercise in this library. Section 13 is drafted to track the current statutory floor rather than hard-coding numbers, but the case law interpreting what "tracks the floor" means keeps moving. Do not treat section 13 as safe because it was once reviewed — have it checked again before each significant use, and always before a mass rollout.
⚠️ Existing employees need fresh consideration. If this Agreement (or a new or more restrictive termination clause within it) is being introduced to someone who is already employed — as opposed to being offered at the point of hire — Canadian courts generally require the Employer to give the employee something of genuine value in exchange (for example a signing bonus, a promotion, or a meaningful increase in compensation). An existing employee asked to sign this Agreement for nothing in return risks the whole Agreement, not only the termination clause, being unenforceable against them. Take advice before rolling this Agreement out to existing staff.
THIS AGREEMENT is made as of [Date].
BETWEEN:
[Employer Legal Name], [a corporation incorporated under the laws of [Province / Canada] / a sole proprietorship / a partnership] having its principal place of business at [Employer Address]
(the "Employer")
— and —
[Employee Legal Name] of [Employee Address]
(the "Employee")
(each a "Party" and together the "Parties")
WHEREAS the Employer wishes to employ the Employee on a full-time, indefinite basis, and the Employee has agreed to accept that employment on the terms set out below;
NOW THEREFORE in consideration of the mutual covenants below, the Parties agree as follows:
Position and Duties
The Employer employs the Employee in the position of [Job Title], reporting to [Title of Manager].
The Employee will perform the duties normally associated with the position of [Job Title], and any other duties reasonably assigned by the Employer from time to time, consistent with the Employee's skill and experience.
The Employee will devote their full working time and attention to the Employer's business and will not, without the Employer's prior written consent, engage in any other employment or business activity that conflicts with the Employee's duties to the Employer.
The Employee represents that entering into this Agreement and performing their duties will not breach any agreement or obligation the Employee owes to a third party.
A change to duties, title, reporting line or work location can be significant enough that a court treats it as a unilateral change to a fundamental term of employment — a constructive dismissal — even though the Employee was never formally terminated. Keep clause 1.2 to changes that are genuinely within the scope of the role. A material demotion, a large pay cut, or a significant increase in reporting distance from senior management are common triggers.
Term and Probationary Period
The Employee's employment begins on [Start Date] and continues on an indefinite basis until terminated in accordance with section 13.
The first [Number] days of employment are a probationary period. During the probationary period, the Employer may terminate the Employee's employment at its discretion, subject to any minimum entitlement the Employee has already accrued under the ESA at the time notice is given.
Successful completion of the probationary period does not entitle the Employee to greater notice of termination than provided in section 13.
The ESA sets its own qualifying period before an employee becomes entitled to statutory notice of termination, and probationary termination rights are not unlimited — an employer must still act in good faith and not for a discriminatory reason. VERIFY the current ESA qualifying period and how it interacts with a contractual probationary clause of this length before relying on it, and confirm the probationary period is being used to genuinely assess suitability rather than to defeat notice entitlements.
Hours of Work
The Employee's standard hours of work are [Number] hours per week, ordinarily scheduled as [Schedule], subject to the reasonable requirements of the position.
The Employee [is / is not] eligible for overtime pay under the ESA. Where eligible, overtime is paid in accordance with the ESA and the Employer's overtime policy.
Whether a role is exempt from ESA overtime depends on the actual duties performed, not the job title. Confirm the exemption applies in substance before selecting "is not" above.
Compensation
The Employer will pay the Employee a base salary of [Amount] per [year / month], payable [bi-weekly / semi-monthly / monthly], less applicable statutory deductions and withholdings.
Include if a discretionary bonus applies: The Employee may be eligible for a discretionary bonus of up to [Amount / Percentage], subject to the Employer's bonus plan then in effect, individual and company performance, and the Employee being actively employed and not under notice of termination on the payment date. The Employer may amend or discontinue the bonus plan at its discretion.
The Employer may review the Employee's compensation from time to time. Nothing in this section obligates the Employer to increase compensation.
Vacation and Public Holidays
The Employee is entitled to [Number] weeks of paid vacation per year / the minimum vacation entitlement required by the ESA, whichever is greater, accruing and to be scheduled in accordance with the Employer's vacation policy. Vacation pay is calculated in accordance with the ESA.
The Employee is entitled to public holiday pay in accordance with the ESA for each public holiday recognized under the ESA on which the Employee does not work.
The ESA vacation-pay formula depends on the Employee's length of service and is calculated as a percentage of wages earned in the relevant period. VERIFY the current formula and applicable percentage before publishing.
Benefits
Include if the Employer offers group benefits: The Employee is eligible to participate in the Employer's group benefits plan, as it exists from time to time, subject to the terms of the plan and the approval of the insurer. The Employer may amend, replace or discontinue the plan at its discretion, on reasonable notice to the Employee where required by the plan or by law.
Business Expenses
The Employer will reimburse the Employee for reasonable, pre-approved business expenses properly incurred in performing the Employee's duties, on production of receipts and in accordance with the Employer's expense policy.
Workplace Policies
The Employee will comply with the Employer's policies and procedures, as amended from time to time and made available to the Employee. In the event of a conflict between a policy and this Agreement, this Agreement governs.
Include if the Employer has 25 or more employees: The Employer maintains a written policy on disconnecting from work as required by the ESA.
The Working for Workers Act, 2021 added an ESA requirement for employers with 25 or more employees to have a written disconnecting-from-work policy. VERIFY the current employee-count threshold and compliance deadline mechanics before stating clause 8.2 applies.
Confidentiality
"Confidential Information" means non-public information relating to the Employer's business that the Employee acquires in the course of employment, whether or not marked confidential, including business plans, customer and supplier information, pricing, technical information and personal information about the Employer's employees, customers or suppliers.
The Employee will keep Confidential Information confidential both during and after employment, use it only to perform their duties, and not disclose it to any third party without the Employer's prior written consent, except as required by law.
Section 9.2 does not apply to information that is or becomes public through no fault of the Employee, or that the Employee is required to disclose by law or by a court or regulator — provided the Employee gives the Employer prompt notice where lawful to do so.
Intellectual Property
All work product, inventions, designs, code, documents and other materials created by the Employee within the scope of their employment (the "Work Product") are owned by the Employer.
To the extent any Work Product is not automatically owned by the Employer by operation of law, the Employee assigns to the Employer all right, title and interest in it, including all copyright, effective on creation.
The Employee waives, in favour of the Employer and anyone claiming through the Employer, all moral rights in the Work Product.
Moral rights cannot be assigned under Canadian copyright law — they can only be waived. Omitting this clause leaves the Employer unable to modify the Work Product without the Employee's consent, even after the employment ends.
Non-Solicitation
During employment and for [Number] months after the end of employment for any reason, the Employee will not directly solicit any employee of the Employer with whom the Employee had material contact during the last [Number] months of employment, for the purpose of employment elsewhere.
During employment and for [Number] months after the end of employment for any reason, the Employee will not directly solicit any customer of the Employer with whom the Employee had material contact during the last [Number] months of employment, for the purpose of providing services competitive with those of the Employer.
Section 11.2 does not prevent the Employee from responding to a general advertisement not directed at the Employer's customers.
This Agreement contains no clause restricting the Employee from working for, or starting, a competing business after employment ends. Under the ESA (as amended by the Working for Workers Act, 2021), a clause of that kind is void against a non-executive employee in Ontario, subject to a narrow exception this template does not use. Do not add that kind of clause to this section.
Keep the scope, duration and definition of "material contact" narrow and tailored to the actual role. An unreasonably broad non-solicitation clause risks being read, and struck down, as an unlawful restriction on the Employee's ability to earn a living elsewhere.
Return of Property
On the end of employment for any reason, or earlier on request, the Employee will return all property, equipment, documents and Confidential Information belonging to the Employer, and permanently delete any copies in the Employee's possession or control that cannot be physically returned.
Termination of Employment
Termination by the Employer Without Cause
Option A — ESA minimum only
The Employer may terminate the Employee's employment at any time without cause, on providing the Employee with the minimum notice of termination, or pay in lieu of notice, and severance pay (if applicable), required under the ESA, calculated based on the Employee's length of service as of the date notice is given. During the statutory notice period, the Employer will continue the Employee's participation in any benefit plan required to be continued under the ESA, and will make any other payment or provide any other entitlement required under the ESA. This Agreement provides no greater entitlement to notice, pay in lieu of notice, severance pay, or any other payment or benefit on termination without cause than the ESA requires.
Option B — Enhanced contractual notice
The Employer may terminate the Employee's employment at any time without cause, on providing the Employee with the greater of (a) [Number] weeks'/ months' written notice, or pay in lieu of notice, and (b) the minimum notice of termination, or pay in lieu of notice, and severance pay (if applicable), required under the ESA, calculated based on the Employee's length of service as of the date notice is given. During the applicable notice period, the Employer will continue the Employee's participation in any benefit plan required to be continued under the ESA for at least the statutory notice period, and will make any other payment or provide any other entitlement required under the ESA.
In no event will the Employee receive, on termination without cause, less than the Employee's minimum entitlements under the ESA.
Termination by the Employer for Cause
The Employer may terminate the Employee's employment at any time, without notice, pay in lieu of notice, or severance pay, for cause.
For the purposes of this section, "cause" means conduct that constitutes wilful misconduct, disobedience, or wilful neglect of duty that is not trivial and has not been condoned by the Employer, as that standard is defined under the ESA and its regulations.
Resignation by the Employee
The Employee may resign on providing the Employer with [Number] weeks' written notice. The Employer may, at its discretion, accept the resignation effective immediately or at any point during the notice period, with pay in lieu of the remainder of the notice period, or may require the Employee to work through all or part of the notice period.
Constructive Dismissal
A significant, unilateral change by the Employer to a fundamental term of the Employee's employment — including compensation, position, reporting line, or work location — may, at common law, be treated as a termination of the Employee's employment by the Employer, regardless of the Employer's characterization of the change. Nothing in this Agreement is intended to authorize such a change.
Effect of Termination
On the end of employment for any reason, the Employer will pay the Employee all wages, accrued and unused vacation pay, and any other amount earned up to the date employment ends, together with any amount owing under section 13.1 or 13.3, as applicable.
Sections 9, 10, 11 and 15 survive the end of employment.
Use Option A if the Employer wants the Employee's without-cause entitlement capped at the ESA minimums. Use Option B if the Employer wants to offer a fixed, enhanced contractual notice period instead (which must still never fall below the ESA minimums). Delete whichever option does not apply, and renumber.
The "in no event less than the ESA" language in clause 13.2 is intended as a floor, not a substitute for getting clause 13.1 right. Courts have not uniformly treated a floor clause of this kind as sufficient to save an otherwise ESA-offside termination scheme — see the enforceability warning at the top of this template. Do not rely on clause 13.2 alone.
The ESA "cause" standard for withholding statutory notice and severance is narrower than "just cause" at common law. An employer can have grounds to dismiss for cause at common law and still owe the Employee the ESA minimums, because the conduct does not meet the stricter statutory standard. This is a common and costly drafting trap — do not assume common-law just cause and ESA cause are the same thing. VERIFY the current regulatory wording (O. Reg. 288/01) before relying on clause 13.3.2 in a specific dismissal.
Check the surviving-section list against the final numbering after optional clauses are deleted.
Notices
Notices under this Agreement must be in writing and delivered to the address set out above, or to any other address a Party notifies in writing. Notice is deemed received on delivery if delivered personally or by email, or [Number] business days after mailing if sent by prepaid mail.
General
This Agreement is governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable in Ontario. The Parties attorn to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Ontario.
This Agreement is the entire agreement between the Parties relating to the Employee's employment and supersedes all prior discussions, negotiations and agreements, whether written or oral, relating to that subject matter.
No amendment to this Agreement is effective unless in writing and signed by both Parties. Continued employment following a proposed amendment is not, by itself, acceptance of that amendment.
A failure or delay by a Party in exercising a right under this Agreement is not a waiver of that right.
If a provision of this Agreement, other than a provision within section 13, is held unenforceable, it is severed and the remainder of this Agreement continues in force.
This Agreement may be executed in counterparts and delivered electronically, each of which is an original and all of which together form one agreement.
Clause 15.5 deliberately excludes section 13 from the general severability clause. Under Waksdale, a severability clause does not rescue an ESA-offside termination scheme, and drafting the severability clause as though it could creates a false sense of protection. Do not extend clause 15.5 to section 13.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the Parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.
[Employer Legal Name] | [Employee Legal Name] |
Per: ______________________ | Signature: ______________________ |
Name: [Name] | Name: [Name] |
Title: [Title] | |
I have authority to bind the Employer. |
Schedule A — Key Terms Summary
Complete this Schedule before execution. In case of conflict with the body of this Agreement, this Schedule is for reference only and does not override the body — resolve any conflict by correcting the Schedule to match the body.
Position: [Job Title]
Reports to: [Title of Manager]
Start date: [Start Date]
Probationary period: [Number] days
Standard hours per week: [Number]
Primary work location: [Address / Remote / Hybrid]
Base salary: [Amount] per [year / month]
Vacation entitlement: [Number] weeks per year
Without-cause notice option selected: [Option A — ESA minimum only / Option B — Enhanced: [Number] weeks/months]
5.0 out of 5 on Google
Read reviewsAs seen in








Frequently asked questions
A template isn't binding on its own - like any contract, it becomes binding once it's properly completed and signed. Templates in our curated library are professionally drafted for US or UK law; review any template before you sign it.
Yes. Chat with GitLaw to edit any section, or make changes directly in the editor.
Yes, read about team plans here.
Describe what you need in the chat and GitLaw will draft it for you.
Templates in our curated library are professionally drafted for US or UK law. The wider library comes from the GitLaw community and public sources - a solid starting point, but check any template fits your situation before you rely on it.
Mostly US and UK law. Some templates use general commercial terms that work across jurisdictions, and many note which law they're written for.
It depends on the situation. Templates work well for routine business agreements. For anything involving significant money, complex IP, employment, or areas you're unsure about, it's worth getting professional advice before you sign. GitLaw provides templates and tools, not legal advice.
Open any template in GitLaw and describe the change you want in the chat — 'make clause 4 mutual' or 'add a 30-day notice period', for example. GitLaw drafts the revised language and shows it as a suggested edit. You accept, reject, or keep editing from there.
Yes. Upload a Word, PDF, or Markdown file and GitLaw will open it in the editor. You can review, edit, or chat with GitLaw about it the same way you would with any template from the library.
Trusted by thousands of businesses
From template to signed, in one place
Every template opens in an editor with an AI agent alongside it.
Open
Pick a template and open it. Nothing to download, and no credit card to start.
Free to open
Edit with AI
Describe your situation in chat and the agent adapts the wording, clause by clause.
Tracked changes you can review
Send and sign
Share it for negotiation, then collect signatures without leaving GitLaw.
eSign included
Built for your legal work, with practicing lawyers
Trained on 5.5K+ clauses and specialist areas of law. Built with a standards committee of independent lawyers.

As seen in








Start free
No sales calls, no credit card. Just chat with GitLaw.
GitLaw provides templates and tools, not legal advice. Templates are a starting point, not a substitute for advice on your situation - for anything significant, speak to a qualified lawyer.
