When your employer asks you to take additional training, a common question follows: who covers the cost? In British Columbia, the answer depends on why the training is happening, and who benefits most from it.

Many Canadians work under seasonal or fixed-term employment contracts, particularly in industries such as tourism, education, agriculture, recreation, and construction. A common question arises when a contract ends, and the employer decides not to bring the employee back: Is the employee entitled to advance notice or severance pay?

For years, BC employers reached for the non-compete clause as their default tool to protect the business when a key employee leaves. That era is over. Between recent BC court decisions and a proposed federal ban, non-competition clauses have fallen out of favour, and employers who still rely on them may be holding an unenforceable promise. The better protection for most businesses is usually a narrower tool, a non-solicitation and/or confidentiality clause.