Employers collect, use, disclose, and maintain significant amounts of personal information about their employees as part of the employment relationship, for example:

Companies must pay close attention to Canadian privacy and data security laws governing the collection, use, transfer, and disposal of these different personal information types. No single law regulates employee privacy rights and obligations in Canada. Comprehensive privacy laws that protect personal information and other federal and provincial statutes apply to employee information and employers' privacy requirements. Applicable laws depend on the jurisdiction and industry, and whether the employer is a public- or private-sector entity. Depending on the jurisdiction of employment and the characteristics of the workplace, an employee may enjoy greater or lesser privacy protections.

This Toolkit provides resources designed to help counsel understand best practices for employee personal information management. It also includes resources to help counsel establish and manage a company's privacy compliance program for employee personal information in a manner consistent with Canadian law. Compliance with other jurisdictions' requirements is outside the scope of this Toolkit.