Peo Service Providers in Quebec
DID YOU KNOW THAT QUEBEC IS PART OF CANADA?
Written by Maria Ricci, General Manger, PSC
Quebec is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level. What does this mean to you?
All Canadian and US companies doing business in Canada need to be aware of the different provincial labor laws, which is where PEO service providers can be of great value. In Quebec, when the employee (W2) and independent contractor population (1099) exceeds 45, not only does the corporation (PEO or Client) need to be prepared to adhere to the Quebec labor laws but they also need to be aware of the Quebec Language Laws. Please take note that the language laws will differ when a corporation does not have a physical location in Quebec. Also, if the contractor requests to be serviced in English then you should do so. Please keep in mind that the service and documentation needs to be made available and not imposed.
Service in French needs to be made available to all Independent Contractors and T4 Employees for the following:
- Customer Service Reps need to be fluent in French when communicating with the contractor population in Quebec. Whether it is for the initial review of the statement of work, for any payroll issues, technology issues and ongoing service.
- The onboarding package needs to be in French. Contractor or Employment Agreement, Federal and Provincial Tax Forms, Corporate Employee Handbook, Payroll Forms/Direct Deposit forms, Background Check Authorization form, Expense Reimbursement Forms, Time Sheet/Entry Instructions, Invoicing Procedures, Copy of Policies and Procedures etc...
- Payment advice and payroll stubs need to be sent to the contractor in French.
- The time keeping system needs to be available to them in French. Any in house technology and/or standard software packages need to be available to them in French also.
- Mass communications going out to the population must be written in French.
- Your website needs to be available in French.
The Charter of the French Language, also known as Bill 101 came into force in 1977. Since then they have audited, imposed and framed fundamental language rights for everyone in the province of Quebec. A certain amount of time is allocated by them to the corporation to translate and be compliant to their rules. Non Compliance is not an option and will prove to be very costly for the corporation in the long run if the corporation does not adhere to the rules set forth by the Language Police. PEO service providers manage your HR payroll services so that your company won't find itself in expensive non compliance situations.
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