What an Alberta employment contract is for
Alberta employers often hire on a handshake and an offer email, and find out what that costs when the job ends. The Employment Standards Code sets the floor: notice or termination pay of up to 8 weeks, overtime after 8 hours a day or 44 a week, vacation, general holidays and job-protected leaves. But the Code is only the floor. Without a written termination clause that a court will enforce, a dismissed employee can claim common law reasonable notice, which for a mid-career employee can run to many months. Without a layoff clause, an unpaid layoff in a slow season can be treated as a dismissal. And without written terms, there is no probation period, no clear bonus rule and no protection of confidential information.
This contract puts those terms in writing. It covers the position, hours and overtime, pay and incentives, vacation and general holidays, benefits, leaves including the 27-week long-term illness and injury leave that started in 2026, probation, temporary layoff and recall, resignation, termination with a choice of two options, confidentiality and privacy, intellectual property, an optional non-solicitation clause and policies. Schedules cover the job, incentive plan, policies received and a termination worksheet for the employer's file.
When to use it
Use it for every new hire in a provincially regulated Alberta business: office and professional staff, trades and field workers, retail and hospitality employees, technology workers and managers. It is also the right document when an employee moves into a significantly different role, as long as the employee receives something new, such as a raise, in exchange for the new terms.
Give it to the employee before the first day of work. A contract signed after the employee starts, with nothing new in return, may not bind them. Union members, federally regulated employees and independent contractors need different documents.
What's inside
The full list of sections and fields in this template, in the order they appear.
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Position and hours
- Job title and start date
- Permanent or fixed term
- Work location
- Normal hours
- Overtime or exclusion
- Rest periods
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Pay and time off
- Salary or hourly rate
- Annual review
- Incentive pay
- Lawful deductions
- Vacation
- General holidays
- Benefits
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Leaves and probation
- Job-protected leaves
- 27-week long-term illness and injury leave
- Paid sick days
- 90-day probation
-
Layoff and resignation
- Notice of layoff
- 60 days in 120
- Recall
- Employee's resignation notice
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Termination
- Option A Code minimum
- Option B Code plus
- Other payments
- Full and final
- Never less than the Code
- Just cause
- Final pay
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Confidentiality, IP and covenants
- Confidential information
- PIPA employee information
- Protected reports
- Work product and moral rights
- Non-solicitation option
-
Policies and general terms
- Harassment and violence prevention policy
- Entire agreement
- Changes in role
- Severability
- Legal advice
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Schedules A to D
- Position description
- Incentive plan
- Policies received
- Termination worksheet
-
Employer's Hiring Checklist
- 9 checks before the first day
Preview pages
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Page 1 -
Page 2 -
Page 3
How to complete the contract
- Fill in the position. Title, manager, start date, permanent or fixed term, and work location.
- Choose the overtime option. Keep Code overtime unless an exclusion in the Regulation genuinely applies.
- Set pay and incentives. Salary or hourly rate and pay dates; attach Schedule B for commission or bonus.
- Set vacation, holidays and benefits. Enter anything above the Code minimums and any additional holidays you observe.
- Keep the layoff clause if your business has seasonal or project-based slowdowns.
- Choose the termination option. Code minimum only, or Code plus a set number of weeks per year.
- Choose the restrictive covenant. None, or a narrow non-solicitation clause.
- Complete the schedules. Job description, incentive plan and policies received; keep the worksheet on file.
- Deliver before day one. Run the checklist, remove the worksheet and notes, and sign.
Example: ending employment under Option B
Fictional employer Prairie Signal Controls Ltd. of Edmonton hires Tomás Rivera as an instrumentation technologist on May 4, 2020 at $88,400 a year, with Option B: 2 weeks per completed year up to 16 weeks, or the Code amount if greater.
Termination without cause: October 30, 2026. Completed years: 6. Code (section 56): 6 to less than 8 years = 5 weeks. Option B: 2 × 6 = 12 weeks. The greater is 12 weeks. Weekly wage: $88,400 ÷ 52 = $1,700. Termination pay: 12 × $1,700 = $20,400. Plus: salary to October 30 and outstanding vacation pay, paid within the Code's deadline.
If Prairie Signal had laid Tomás off for the winter instead, the layoff clause and a written notice of layoff would let it do so for up to 60 days in 120 without ending his employment.
Alberta rules to know
- No contracting out (Code section 4). A contract can give more than the Code, never less.
- Termination notice (section 56). From 1 week after 90 days to 8 weeks after 10 years, or termination pay instead.
- Overtime. After 8 hours a day or 44 a week, at 1.5 times, unless a written overtime agreement allows banked time.
- Vacation and holidays. 2 weeks, then 3 after 5 years; nine general holidays.
- Long-term illness and injury leave. Up to 27 weeks a year from January 1, 2026.
- Temporary layoff. Written notice of layoff; up to 60 days in 120 before it becomes a termination.
- Privacy. Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act allows employers to collect and use personal employee information reasonably needed for the relationship, with notice.
- Restrictive covenants. Enforceable only if clear and reasonable (Shafron, 2009).
Contract terms Alberta courts reject
Alberta judges see the same contract problems repeatedly. A clause says employment is "at will", which Alberta does not recognize. A termination clause promises "notice as required by legislation" but also lets the employer terminate "at any time, for any reason", or defines cause to include any policy breach, and the whole clause falls. A non-compete bars a technician from working anywhere in western Canada for two years and is struck out entirely. A contract is handed over on the first morning, with nothing new in return. This contract's termination options, savings clause, narrow covenant and pre-start delivery are designed to keep its terms enforceable.
Frequently asked questions
How much notice must an Alberta employer give?
Under section 56 of the Employment Standards Code, none in the first 90 days; then 1 week up to 2 years, 2 weeks up to 4 years, 4 weeks up to 6 years, 5 weeks up to 8 years, 6 weeks up to 10 years, and 8 weeks after 10 years. Without an enforceable termination clause, the employee can claim common law reasonable notice, which is usually much longer.
Is at-will employment allowed in Alberta?
No. Alberta employers can end employment without cause, but they must give notice or pay in place of notice. A contract that claims employment is "at will" is not enforceable, and the employee will be entitled to at least the Code minimum and possibly common law notice.
Can an Alberta employer temporarily lay off an employee?
The Code allows temporary layoffs with written notice of layoff, generally for up to 60 days in a 120-day period before the layoff becomes a termination. But at common law, an unpaid layoff that the contract does not allow can be a constructive dismissal, so the contract should include a layoff clause.
What changed for Alberta employers in 2026?
From January 1, 2026, long-term illness and injury leave increased from 16 to 27 weeks a year, matching federal EI sickness benefits. The leave is unpaid unless the employer's policy says otherwise, and the employee's job is protected.
Are non-compete clauses enforceable in Alberta?
Alberta has no law banning them, but courts enforce them only if they are clear and reasonable, and will strike out a clause that goes too far rather than rewriting it. A narrow non-solicitation clause limited to customers the employee dealt with is the more reliable protection.
