Posidrive

It seems like Calgary has a number of companies with absolutely no ethics (what a surprise ). We have recently come across a number of skilled trades people from Germany who have been lured to Calgary on a temporary work permit with promises of continuous work, with a view to obtaining PR. After a few months work during the Summer peak they were then laid off until work picks up again next Summer. Hence they are stuck in Calgary hoping that they either have enough money to survive for 6 months or by some act of divine providence they get the hoped for PR visa.

This has happened to a range of trades including electricians and decorators. Be warned!!

Judy in Calgary

The bastards. :curse:

But thank you for the warning, Posi.
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Jay Bird

Wow Judy - I think that's the first time I've seen you use such language!
Karma to calm ya!

JonboyE

It is a fair warning. It is also a warning that everyone who is looking to get into Canada on a work permit should heed.

Employment in Canada is pretty much "at will". There is not the kind of employment protection laws that Britain and other European countries have. In some industries it is very common to lay-off workers when there is not work to do.

The best protection is to be good at your job. When employers do have to lay-off workers they will try and keep the good ones!

It is even more important in Canada than the UK to keep an emergency fund of a few months living expenses. Just in case.

ladymoose

Doesn't just happen to tradesmen... hubby's first IT job was offered on basis of 42 hour week, monthly salary etc. Within 6 months work had dropped off and although he was supposed to be paid a standard monthly salary they stopped paying him for the time there was no work - so if he was lucky, he got paid for a 25 hour week only. He managed to find another job and transfer the work permit - luckily. Was a bad time.

the undutchables

If you are working for a company and are laid off, what would happen with your TWP?
Would you have to leave Canada, or if you found another company to work for would they have to go through the process of applying for a new work permit?
Would it perhaps be a quicker / easier process seeing as you are already in Canada, and have some Canadian work experience?
Also, how would this affect things if you had already applied for your PR?

Piff Poff

Mechanics are in the same sort of boat too! My mechanic is paid when he is working on a job, when there are no jobs, there is no pay.

He came home yesterday and said how quiet it had been, but he managed to keep himself busy, lot's of the others went home by 3pm.

He keeps himself busy by doing the jobs the other mechanics think are beneath them, he also reports stuff he sees wrong rather than just fixing the thing the car came in for and he will also stay on, to see if a job will come in - unless his name is at the bottom of the list of who is next in turn for a job that is

Good work ethics!

Posidrive

This is a bit of a grey area. it is generally accepted that you should have no problem staying in Canada for the duration of the work permit. Leaving and coming back could be more problematic since every time I return from a business trip the immigration officers always ask me if I'm still working for the same company. If you lie and are found out, to put it bluntly you are screwed. Don't know how they could find out though.

If you find another job then you have to go through the process of applying for another work permit plus getting HRSDC approval for the job.

the undutchables

Is there any restrictions on applying for a TWP while still working for a company on a TWP?

Here is an example.
You are a tradesman and get a job offer and a 2yr TWP from a construction company. You move over with your family, say in spring, and everything's going great, however, as the next winter approaches, the company starts to lay of workers. You are still working with them, but work is slowing up and there are rumors of more lay offs. You apply to other companies, who then have to apply for the LMO and then a TWP for you. Once the new TWP is all in place, you hand in your notice with the company you came over to work with, and go straight into the new job on a new permit.

Would this be possible?

Judy in Calgary

I think, but am not sure, that it would be possible.

AmyDavid and her husband weren't happy while they were on work permits in Kelowna, BC, so they drove across the country to Nova Scotia, found another job, applied for another work permit, and got it. I believe that, in each instance, Amy got a spousal open work permit on the basis of her husband's work permit.

See We have our WP's.

What I think happened, but am not sure, is that hubby resigned from his job in Kelowna, and tried for another job and work permit in Nova Scotia.

I don't know if you can apply for another work permit while you're still actively working for your original employer on your original work permit.

The immigration experts tend to stick to the Immigration forum, so they may not see your question here. If you're really interested in the answer, you might consider starting a new thread in the Immigration forum.
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AmyDavid

That is SPOT on what happened! We were just really lucky that it all worked out for us, as looking back, it was quite a big risk to take!

ladymoose

When hubby found another job cos the first one was BAD NEWS, he found the other job first and then informed the WP people that he needed the WP transferred to the new party and that it needed to be extended also. Not sure whether we ended up with a completely new WP or whether they reissued the old one under the new employer's name with an extension to the end date. We had so many bits of green paper in the end, it got very confusing. This was IT though, so we didn't have to have anything approved by HRDC.

jonjws

I am a bricklayer in calgary, and the company I sub contract off at the moment has a pile of work, so if anyone knows of anybody who is short of work just PM me and i'll see what i can do regarding getting them a job.

Regards john smitherman

Judy in Calgary

I've created a Wiki article called Work Permit Complications, to address the issues raised in this thread.

Andrew Miller was kind enough to check it before I published it, and he corrected a couple of misconceptions I'd had.
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the undutchables

I've another question for you, although I don't suppose it's that important. If your original work permit was for two years, you worked 18 months on it, and for whatever reason you get a new TWP issued, will it be a new 2yr TWP, or will it be for the remaining 6mths and need to be extended?