Offer Letter (Short Form) (British Columbia) by OLL
This document is a short-form employment offer letter for indefinite-term hires in British Columbia. It functions as a binding contract establishing core terms including base salary, a defined probationary period, and specific termination entitlements aligned with the BC Employment Standards Act.
This document comes from OLL's library of vetted legal templates
OFFER LETTER [SHORT FORM]
This template is a short-form offer letter for a new, indefinite-term hire in British Columbia. It is employer-side: drafted to be offered by the Employer, and it is a binding employment agreement once signed — not a preliminary or courtesy document. "Short form" describes the length of the surrounding boilerplate, not the termination clause: section 7 carries the same termination architecture as the full employment-full-time-indefinite template, in full, because this letter is frequently the ONLY signed document governing the relationship. If the role is fixed-term rather than indefinite, use employment-fixed-term instead. 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.
Do NOT reuse the Ontario version of this template's termination reasoning. Section 7 is drafted against the BC Employment Standards Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 113 (the "ESA") directly.
⚠️ A short offer letter is still a complete contract. Do not shorten section 7 to make this document read more casually. An offer letter with no termination clause, or an incomplete one, simply leaves the Employee entitled to full common-law reasonable notice on termination.
⚠️ Termination-clause enforceability is uncertain and moving. How strictly a BC court will construe an ambiguous or partially deficient termination clause against the Employer is not settled here — I have not identified a BC authority in the registry I am confident enough in to state a rule. Have section 7 checked against the current leading BC authority before each significant use.
⚠️ If a fuller agreement is meant to follow, say so — and follow through. If the plan is to have the new hire sign a longer, more detailed employment agreement once they begin, section 8.2 flags it explicitly. Leaving this ambiguous risks a dispute over which document governs.
⚠️ Existing employees need fresh consideration. If this letter is being used to change the terms of someone who is already employed rather than to extend a new offer, Canadian courts generally require the Employer to give the employee something of genuine value in exchange. Take advice before using this letter with an existing employee.
[Employer Legal Name] [Employer Address]
[Date]
[Employee Name] [Employee Address]
Dear [Employee Name],
We are pleased to offer you employment with [Employer Legal Name] (the "Employer") on the terms set out in this letter (this "Agreement"). Please read it carefully.
Position, Start Date and Probation
Your position is [Job Title], reporting to [Title of Manager]. You will perform the duties normally associated with this position and any other duties reasonably assigned to you from time to time.
Your employment begins on [Start Date] and continues on an indefinite basis until terminated in accordance with section 7.
The first [Number] days of your employment are a probationary period, during which the Employer may terminate your employment at its discretion, subject to any minimum entitlement you have already accrued under the ESA at the time notice is given.
VERIFY the current BC ESA qualifying period for statutory notice entitlement before relying on this clause.
Compensation
Your base salary is [Amount] per [year / month], payable [bi-weekly / semi-monthly / monthly], less applicable statutory deductions and withholdings.
Include if a discretionary bonus applies: You may be eligible for a discretionary bonus of up to [Amount / Percentage], subject to the Employer's bonus plan then in effect and you being actively employed and not under notice of termination on the payment date.
Hours of Work and Location
Your standard hours of work are [Number] hours per week, and your primary work location is [Address / Remote / Hybrid].
Vacation and Benefits
You are entitled to [Number] weeks of paid vacation per year / the minimum vacation entitlement required by the ESA, whichever is greater, and to statutory holiday pay, each calculated in accordance with the ESA.
Include if the Employer offers group benefits: You are 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.
Confidentiality, Work Product and Return of Property
You will keep confidential all non-public information relating to the Employer's business that you acquire in the course of employment, both during and after employment, and use it only to perform your duties.
All work product, inventions, designs, code, documents and other materials you create within the scope of your employment are owned by the Employer. To the extent any of it is not automatically owned by the Employer by operation of law, you assign it to the Employer, effective on creation, and you waive all moral rights in it in the Employer's favour.
On the end of your employment for any reason, or earlier on request, you will return all Employer property, equipment and documents in your possession, and permanently delete any copies that cannot be physically returned.
Non-Solicitation
During your employment and for [Number] months after the end of your employment for any reason, you will not directly solicit any employee or customer of the Employer with whom you had material contact during the last [Number] months of your employment, for the purpose of, respectively, employment elsewhere or providing services competitive with those of the Employer. This does not prevent you from responding to a general advertisement not directed at the Employer's employees or customers.
This Agreement contains no clause restricting you from working for, or starting, a competing business after your employment ends. Unlike Ontario, British Columbia has no statutory prohibition on that kind of clause for a non-executive employee, so a narrowly drafted one may be enforceable in limited circumstances — but drafting one properly is fact-specific and is out of scope for this self-serve template.
Termination of Employment
Termination by the Employer Without Cause
Option A — ESA minimum only
The Employer may terminate your employment at any time without cause, on providing you with the minimum notice of termination, or pay in lieu of notice, required under the ESA, calculated based on your length of service as of the date notice is given, together with any other payment or entitlement required under the ESA. This Agreement provides no greater entitlement to notice, pay in lieu of notice, or any other payment or benefit on termination without cause than the ESA requires.
Option B — Enhanced contractual notice
The Employer may terminate your employment at any time without cause, on providing you 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, required under the ESA, calculated based on your length of service as of the date notice is given.
In no event will you receive, on termination without cause, less than your minimum entitlements under the ESA.
Termination by the Employer for Cause
The Employer may terminate your employment at any time, without notice or pay in lieu of notice, for just cause.
Resignation
You may resign on providing the Employer with [Number] weeks' written notice. The Employer may, at its discretion, accept your 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 you to work through all or part of the notice period.
Constructive Dismissal
A significant, unilateral change by the Employer to a fundamental term of your employment — including compensation, position, reporting line, or work location — may, at common law, be treated as a termination of your employment by the Employer, regardless of the Employer's characterization of the change.
Effect of Termination
On the end of your employment for any reason, the Employer will pay you 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 7.1 or 7.3, as applicable.
Sections 5, 6 and 8 survive the end of your employment.
This section carries the same substance and the same warnings as the termination section of the full employment-full-time-indefinite template. Do not abbreviate it further. Use Option A if the Employer wants your without-cause entitlement capped at the ESA minimums. Use Option B for a fixed, enhanced contractual notice period instead. Delete whichever option does not apply, and renumber.
VERIFY the current BC ESA "just cause" exemption before relying on clause 7.3.1.
Check the surviving-section list against the final numbering after optional clauses are deleted.
Acceptance and General
This offer is open for acceptance until [Offer Expiry Date]. Please confirm your acceptance by signing and returning a copy of this letter by that date.
Include only if a fuller employment agreement is intended to follow: The Employer intends to ask you to sign a more detailed employment agreement following the start of your employment, which may include additional terms. Until you sign that agreement, this letter governs. If any term of that later agreement is less favourable to you than this letter, the Employer will provide you with something of value in exchange for accepting it.
This Agreement is governed by the laws of the Province of British Columbia and the federal laws of Canada applicable in British Columbia. The Parties attorn to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of British Columbia.
This Agreement, together with any Schedule to it, is the entire agreement between you and the Employer relating to your employment and supersedes all prior discussions, negotiations and agreements, whether written or oral, relating to that subject matter, subject to clause 8.2 if it applies.
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.
If a provision of this Agreement, other than a provision within section 7, is held unenforceable, it is severed and the remainder of this Agreement continues in force.
This Agreement may be signed and delivered electronically.
We are excited about the prospect of you joining [Employer Legal Name]. If you have any questions, please contact [Contact Name] at [Contact Email/Phone].
Sincerely,
______________________ [Name] [Title], [Employer Legal Name]
Clause 8.6 excludes section 7 as a precaution given the enforceability uncertainty flagged at the top of this template.
Acceptance
I have read, understood and accept the terms of this offer of employment as set out above.
______________________ [Employee Name]
Date: ______________________
Schedule A — Key Terms Summary
Complete this Schedule before sending the offer. In case of conflict with the body of this letter, 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
Offer expiry date: [Offer Expiry Date]
Without-cause notice option selected: [Option A — ESA minimum only / Option B — Enhanced: [Number] weeks/months]
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Canada note
This version is drafted for Canada. Provinces differ on employment standards and Quebec applies civil law rather than common law. Tell GitLaw which province applies and it adjusts the draft.
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