Employment Contracts for Remote Workers in Ontario: What Employers Should Address

A remote employee contract built from an old in-office template usually still "works" — until the day it doesn't. Standard Ontario employment agreements were written with an assumption baked in: the employee shows up somewhere the employer controls. Remote work quietly removes that assumption, and the gaps only surface when there's a dispute over hours, equipment, expenses, or which province's rules even apply.

None of this means remote hiring is legally risky in a way that should discourage it. It means the contract needs a handful of extra clauses that a template built for an office worker simply doesn't include.

Why a Standard Template Falls Short

An employment contract written for someone at a physical office location typically doesn't address:

• Where the employee is actually performing the work, day to day
• Who owns and maintains the equipment used to do the job
• How expenses tied to a home workspace are handled
• How company data and confidential information are protected outside a controlled office environment
• What "hours of work" even means when there's no shared start time

None of these gaps make the underlying contract unenforceable — but leaving them silent invites disagreement exactly when you can least afford one.

Which Location's Employment Law Applies

This is the question employers most often get wrong when hiring someone who works outside the employer's home base. Ontario's Employment Standards Act, 2000 generally governs employees who work in Ontario; an employee physically performing their work from another province is typically subject to that province's employment standards regime instead, regardless of where the employer's head office sits or what the offer letter says.

This matters most for:

• Fully remote hires living outside Ontario
• Employees who relocate mid-employment without telling HR
• Employers who assume a single template covers every remote hire nationally

A contract should specify the employee's expected work location and require advance notice before any change, precisely because a relocation can shift which jurisdiction's minimum standards apply.

Hours of Work, Availability, and Overtime

Remote work doesn't eliminate hours-of-work and overtime obligations under the ESA — it just makes them harder to observe informally. A remote employment contract should address:

• Core hours or availability windows, if the role requires real-time collaboration
• How time is tracked, especially for non-exempt employees whose overtime entitlement depends on hours actually worked
• Expectations around after-hours availability, distinguished clearly from hours the employee is required to work

Employers should not assume that paying someone a salary automatically removes any overtime obligation — that depends on the nature of the role and applicable exemptions, not on the pay structure alone.

Equipment, Expenses, and the Home Workspace

A remote contract should clearly allocate responsibility for:

• [ ] Who supplies the laptop, phone, and other core equipment
• [ ] Whether the employer reimburses internet, a portion of utilities, or office supplies, and under what process
• [ ] What happens to company equipment when employment ends
• [ ] Whether the employee is required to maintain a private, secure workspace for confidential calls or documents

Leaving these terms to informal understanding is a common source of small but recurring disputes, particularly around equipment return and expense reimbursement.

Confidentiality and Data Security Outside the Office

Confidentiality clauses written for an office environment often assume company information stays behind a locked door and a corporate firewall. A remote-specific version should also address:

• Use of personal devices and personal networks for work purposes
• Secure handling of physical documents outside a company office
• Immediate reporting obligations if a device is lost, stolen, or compromised
• Restrictions on working from shared or public spaces for sensitive tasks

Termination, Notice, and Governing Law Still Apply

A remote arrangement does not change the basic legal framework around ending the employment relationship — ESA minimum notice or pay in lieu still applies after the statutory qualifying period, and a properly drafted termination clause remains just as important as it would be for an in-office employee. What does need attention is the contract's governing-law clause, so it's clear which province's courts and statutes apply if a dispute arises.

Checklist: What to Add for a Remote Hire

• [ ] Defined work location and a notice requirement before any change
• [ ] Governing law clause matched to that location
• [ ] Hours-of-work and availability expectations
• [ ] Equipment ownership, maintenance, and return-on-exit terms
• [ ] Expense reimbursement process
• [ ] Remote-specific confidentiality and data-security obligations
• [ ] A termination clause reviewed against current Ontario case law

Frequently asked questions