When an employer promises to pay an employee money in the future, whether upon retirement, departure, or the occurrence of some specified event, the foundation of that promise matters enormously. The promise itself may be unambiguous in its intent. Both parties may understand perfectly well what was agreed. A board may pass a resolution, hands may be shaken, and everyone involved may act in good faith. But intent and understanding are not the same as enforceability, and enforceability is not the same as collectability. The distinction between these concepts becomes painfully clear when the employer begins to falter, when assets begin to move, when boards turn over and institutional memory fades, and when the employee finally attempts to collect what was promised only to discover that the promise, however real, was never adequately documented in a manner that would protect the employee's interests across the full arc of time during which payment was expected to flow.
Alberta law provides a framework for the creation and enforcement of contractual obligations, including deferred compensation arrangements. The common law of contracts applies with full force, meaning that a valid agreement requires offer, acceptance, consideration, certainty of terms, and an intention to create legal relations. The Employment Standards Code governs minimum standards for employment relationships in the province, though it does not address complex deferred compensation structures in the same manner it addresses wages, overtime, and vacation pay. The Business Corporations Act and the Societies Act, as of the date of authorship, establish the corporate and non-profit frameworks within which employers operate, including the mechanisms by which boards authorize commitments, the fiduciary duties of directors, and the procedures governing dissolution and wind-up. None of these statutes, however, substitute for prudent contractual drafting. An employee who relies on a board resolution alone, without a binding agreement that specifies the full contours of the arrangement, the security interests attached to it, and the remedies available upon default or dissolution, has placed their financial security in the hands of future boards, future financial circumstances, and future legal interpretations that they cannot control.