BC Arbitrator Confirms Employers with Unionized Workforces May Unilaterally Offer Pre-Employment Hiring Incentives

In BCPSEA v. BCTF (Hiring Incentives Provincial Matters Grievance), 2025 CarswellBC 742, (the “Decision”) Arbitrator Jacquie de Aguayo confirmed that in British Columbia, employers with unionized workforces continue to have the right to enter into certain pre-employment contracts with prospective employees and without the involvement of the union. 

Specifically, the Decision confirmed that the British Columbia Public School Employers’ Association (the “BCPSEA”) did not breach the collective agreement with the British Columbia Teachers Federation (the “BCTF”) or any statute, when it implemented a pre-employment hiring incentives program intended to attract teachers to school districts experiencing shortages of qualified teachers.

The Pre-Employment Phase

In unionized workplaces, once an employment relationship has been established between an employer and employee, the union is the exclusive bargaining agent for the employee and the employer is not permitted to enter into contracts regarding terms and conditions of employment directly with the employee; rather, it must negotiate with the union.

The Decision, along with other key arbitral decisions [endnote 1], confirms that prior to the commencement of the employment relationship employers can negotiate contracts with candidates, so long as those contracts meet certain requirements.

The Elements of a Permissible Pre-Employment Hiring Incentive Contract

A hiring bonus or hiring incentive contract is a simple pre-employment contract where an employer offers an incentive — usually in the form of a lump sum cash payment  —  in return for an employee accepting an offer of employment.

Three elements are required for a permissible pre-employment hiring incentive contract in a unionized workplace:

1. Pre-employment offer and acceptance: The pre-employment contract must be offered by the employer and accepted by the candidate in the pre-employment phase (i.e. before the employment relationship has been established by the candidate accepting a job offer).
2. No ongoing employment-related conditions: The pre-employment contract must not contain any terms of “continued employment” (i.e. the contract cannot require anything additional from the employee once the employment relationship has been established, such as a minimum period of service).
3. No conflict with collective agreement: The pre-employment contract must not conflict with the terms of the collective agreement (e.g. the incentive cannot violate an express term of the collective agreement, nor would it be permissible if the agreement establishes a mutual intention to bring pre-employment incentives within the Union’s bargaining authority.).

Once the job offer is accepted, the candidate (now an employee) is entitled to the payment. Once the payment is made, the pre-employment contract is completed.

Takeaways for Employers with Unionized Workforces

If your organization has a unionized workforce and needs to attract workers for specific positions or in specific regions, you are entitled to implement a pre-employment hiring incentives program so long as you carefully design the program to ensure that it meets the requisite elements for permissible pre-employment contracts. 

If you would like assistance in creating a permissible hiring incentives program, please contact your Harris lawyer.

Endnote 1: Other relevant decisions include: Loyalist College of Applied Arts & Technology v OPSEU, 2003 CarswellOnt 653; Ontario Power Generation, 2017 CarswellOnt 11547; CKF Inc. and TC, Local 213 (Hiring Incentive), Re, 2022 CarswellBC 2120; and Central Maine and Quebec Railway Canada Inc. and USW, Local 1976, Re, 2024 CarswellNat 2340.