AINP: Using Recruitment or Employment Agencies

If you plan to use a recruitment or employment agency to help you find a job in Alberta, there is important information you need to know.

• Under the Fair Trading Act all employment agencies in Canada and abroad must be registered and licensed by the Government of Alberta if they are:
  • finding jobs in Alberta for people
  • finding workers for employers in Alberta
  • testing or evaluating individuals for job-related skills on behalf of an employer.
• Insist on seeing the employment agency’s Alberta business license and business registration to verify that it is a legitimate business.
• An agency cannot charge a worker a fee for finding a job in Alberta. If you are a worker who has been charged a fee by an agency, contact the Temporary Foreign Worker Helpline.
  • It is illegal in Alberta to charge a worker for a job placement fee.
  • Employment agencies charge the employer a fee for recruiting a worker.
  • The employer is not allowed to recover the cost of this service from the employee. If an employer tries to recover recruitment agency costs from you as a worker, contact the Temporary Foreign Worker Helpline.

Find out more about:

• using a recruitment or employment agency
• confirming a recruitment or employment agency’s business license.

Date Updated: Mar 11, 2011
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