Experts explain how to design benefits that comply with the laws but also make sense both for employees and employers
Looking ahead to 2026, Canadian employers once again face a delicate balancing act as they design benefits packages: offering competitive programs that attract and retain talent, while protecting themselves from legal liability and following best practice.
“When we're thinking about benefits and value, you have the tension between recruitment and legal risk,” says Oren Barbalat, employment lawyer at Littler in Toronto.
“From a recruitment standpoint, if we have a rich benefits package, that's typically something an employer wants to advertise or to mention as a recruitment tool. They can have a lot of value, particularly when you have a family and you have kids or you have a health issue.”
However, from a legal risk perspective, employers must exercise caution about what they promise at the outset, he explains.
To mitigate this risk, Barbalat recommends careful language in how benefits are presented to prospective and new employees.
“It's much safer to talk about things like eligibility, or that you're going to have the ‘opportunity to enrol’,” he says, “as opposed to promising somebody that they will have a certain benefit.”
This distinction matters significantly when benefits have waiting periods, Barbalat highlights. For example, if a health condition influences a candidate's decision to join a company,...
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