A mid-sized manufacturing company operating in central Alberta has grown steadily over the past 12 years, expanding from a single production facility with 35 employees to a multi-site operation employing approximately 280 workers across 3 locations. The company produces specialized industrial components and serves clients throughout western Canada. Its workforce includes unionized production staff at the original facility, non-unionized workers at 2 newer locations, administrative personnel, supervisors, and a small executive team. The human resources function, originally managed by a single office administrator who handled payroll alongside other duties, has evolved into a 4-person department reporting to the chief operating officer.

The company's HR documentation has accumulated in layers over the years. The original employee handbook dates to the company's founding and has been amended piecemeal through 8 separate addenda. Employment contracts vary significantly depending on when employees were hired and which location they joined. Some long-tenured workers operate under offer letters that predate the company's current corporate structure, while newer hires received contracts drafted from a template purchased from an online legal document service 6 years ago. The termination provisions in these contracts differ substantially, with some referencing specific notice periods and others containing language that purports to limit entitlements to statutory minimums without the protective clauses that courts have required in recent years.

Recent events have prompted the company's leadership to examine its HR practices more closely. A former supervisor filed a wrongful dismissal claim 4 months ago, alleging that his termination lacked adequate notice and that the company's progressive discipline policy was applied inconsistently. Around the same time, a workplace harassment complaint revealed that the company's harassment policy had not been updated since 2017 and did not reflect procedural requirements introduced by subsequent amendments to occupational health and safety legislation. A routine inspection by provincial employment standards officers identified deficiencies in the company's record-keeping for hours worked by certain employees classified as exempt from overtime provisions.

The chief operating officer has tasked the HR manager with conducting a comprehensive internal audit of the company's employment practices before the organization incurs further legal exposure. The audit must examine employment contracts across all 3 facilities, assess whether workplace policies align with current legislative requirements in Alberta, review documentation and record-keeping practices against statutory retention obligations, and evaluate the procedures used for discipline and termination decisions. The findings will inform a remediation plan and establish monitoring mechanisms to maintain ongoing compliance.