Employer compliance - protect your business

Employer compliance means meeting your obligations under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) or International Mobility Program (IMP): paying the agreed wage, providing the agreed working conditions, and keeping required records. ESDC and IRCC can inspect and penalize non-compliance.

ESDC may request documents (pay stubs, job offers, recruitment records, proof of wages and hours). They may interview the employer and the worker. Inspections can be random or triggered by a complaint or risk. Cooperating and having organized records is critical.

Consequences can include fines, a ban from using the TFWP/IMP for a period, being listed on a public list of non-compliant employers, and ineligibility for future LMIAs. Serious or repeated non-compliance can result in longer bans.

For LMIA-exempt work permits (International Mobility Program), employers must still comply with the offer of employment (wage, job, working conditions) and pay the employer compliance fee. IRCC can conduct compliance reviews. Non-compliance can affect future hiring and the worker's status.

We help employers prepare for inspections (document organization, retention policies), respond to ESDC/IRCC requests, and implement compliance training. We can also assist with voluntary disclosure if you discover an error before an inspection.

If you discover that you have not fully complied (e.g. wage error, missing documentation), you may be able to disclose this to ESDC/IRCC voluntarily. In some cases, voluntary disclosure can result in reduced penalties. We can advise on when and how to make a disclosure.

Inspections can be random, risk-based (e.g. sector or employer history), or triggered by a tip, complaint, or information that comes to light during another government process. There is no way to guarantee you won't be selected, which is why staying audit-ready at all times matters more than trying to predict an inspection.

You must keep documents showing you met the offer of employment - job postings and recruitment records, payroll and time records, contracts, and correspondence with the worker - for 6 years. Records should be organized and retrievable quickly, since ESDC and IRCC often set short response deadlines.

Penalties follow a tiered regime: a warning for minor issues, monetary penalties that scale with the severity and number of violations, and bans from the TFWP/IMP ranging from months to permanent, depending on the violation. Employers can also be named on a public list of non-compliant employers.

Core conditions include paying the wage and providing the job and working conditions stated in the offer, making reasonable efforts to keep the workplace free of abuse, staying actively engaged in the business the worker was hired for, and complying with federal and provincial employment laws. LMIA-based employers must also honour any transition plan and recruitment commitments made in the application.

Organize your records in advance so job offers, pay records, and recruitment documentation can be produced quickly, and review your current practices against the offer of employment before ESDC asks. We help employers run a mock compliance check and close gaps proactively, well before any inspection notice arrives.

Yes - correcting an error and, where appropriate, making a voluntary disclosure before ESDC identifies it on its own is generally viewed more favourably than being caught during an inspection. We assess the issue and help you decide whether disclosure, a wage correction, or another remedy is the right first step.

No. Not every employer is inspected, but any employer who has used the TFWP or IMP can be selected at ESDC's or IRCC's discretion. Because selection isn't predictable, the safest approach is to maintain compliant records and practices continuously rather than only when a request arrives.