Labour shortages, labour uncertainty, and staff training are three of the hottest topics affecting the restaurant industry as regulatory controls designed to address the spread of COVID-19 have lifted, and Canada settles into living with the pandemic and adjusting to its cumulative effects from the past two and one-half years.

Against that backdrop, while the use of written employment contracts has never been the norm for the restaurant industry, it is argued here that these businesses can utilize these contracts to help address various of the unique labour challenges now faced by the industry. For businesses that already use written employment contracts, it is recommended that those contracts be reviewed to address their current enforceability as a result of recent court decisions.

Basic principles and considerations applicable to employment contracts

Before discussing the specific content of written employment contracts, it is useful to review some basic principles and considerations applicable to all employment contracts:

1. in order for these contracts to be valid, they must be entered into before the employee starts their employment;
2. if an employee does not have a contract, one can be presented to them for required acceptance at the time of any proposed promotion or proposed new benefit, such as a raise in pay, or bonus;
3. if an employee does have an employment contract, depending on its terms, a new one can be presented to them for required acceptance at the time of any...

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