What an employee really costs.

Wage, payroll taxes, workers' comp and the paid days off, for every province and territory and the US, with 2026 rates. Then what the repeating part of the job costs next to automating it.

The yearly cost of one hire.

Vacation

$59,162

a year for one employee, before hiring, training and equipment

$32

per hour of actual work, on a $26 wage

Wages
$54,080
CPP
$3,010
EI
$1,234
WorkSafeBC
$838

Wages are 40 h × 52 weeks × $26, so paid vacation and 16 paid holidays and sick days are inside them. That leaves about 1,872 hours of work a year. Set WorkSafeBC to your industry's rate: office work is far below the average, construction above it. Employer Health Tax starts above $1M of payroll. Most small businesses pay none.

What goes into the cost.

What does an employee cost in Canada on top of their wage?

The employer side of CPP and EI, plus your province's workers' comp premiums. Paid vacation and statutory holidays are inside the wage, but they're hours you pay for and don't get worked. For a full-time employee under the CPP and EI maximums, payroll costs add roughly 7 to 10% to the wage, before hiring, training, equipment and software.

How much is employer CPP and EI in 2026?

CPP: 5.95% of earnings between $3,500 and $74,600, plus CPP2 at 4% of earnings between $74,600 and $85,000. EI: 1.4 times the employee rate of 1.63%, which is 2.282% of insurable earnings up to $68,900. These are the rates everywhere outside Quebec.

What about Quebec?

Quebec employers pay QPP instead of CPP (6.3% in 2026), a lower EI rate of 1.82% because Quebec runs its own parental insurance plan, QPIP at 0.602%, and the Health Services Fund, which small payrolls pay at 1.65%.

Do I have to pay workers' comp?

In most provinces and industries, yes. Each province has its own board, from WorkSafeBC and WSIB to WCB Manitoba and CNESST, and the rate depends on your industry. Office work pays a fraction of what construction does, so look up your own rate and set it in the calculator.

How much vacation pay do I owe?

Most provinces require at least 4% of wages and two weeks off after a year, rising to 6% and three weeks after a set number of years. Saskatchewan starts at three weeks. Statutory holidays are paid on top for eligible employees, from 6 a year in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador to 11 in BC and the territories.

What does an employee cost in the US?

On top of wages, US employers pay 6.2% Social Security up to $184,500 and 1.45% Medicare, federal unemployment of 0.6% on the first $7,000, state unemployment and workers' comp. Paid vacation and holidays aren't required by federal law, though most full-time jobs offer them.

Is it cheaper to automate than to hire?

For the repeating part of a role, often. Answering the same questions, chasing quotes and invoices, typing data from one system into another and booking appointments can be automated. Judgment, relationships and messy exceptions still need a person. Many owners automate the repeating work first, then hire part-time, or later, for the rest.

Read next: how to hire an employee in BC, do you need an admin assistant and how to screen job applications.

Sources

  1. Canada Revenue Agency, CPP contribution rates, maximums and exemptions
  2. Canada Revenue Agency, EI premium rates and maximums
  3. AWCBC, provisional average assessment rates, 2026
  4. AWCBC, maximum assessable earnings, 2015 to 2026
  5. WorkSafeBC, 2026 maximum wage rate
  6. WCB Manitoba, assessable payroll fact sheet
  7. Government of BC, statutory holidays
  8. Government of BC, paid sick leave
  9. Government of Manitoba, vacations fact sheet
  10. Government of Quebec, 2026 payroll deductions
  11. Social Security Administration, contribution and benefit base
  12. IRS, FUTA credit reduction
  13. US Department of Labor, vacation leave

An estimate for planning, not payroll or tax advice. Your payroll provider or accountant has the final numbers.

Before you hire for the repeating part.

Most roles are part judgment, part repetition: the same questions, quote and invoice follow-ups, typing from one system into another, booking and rebooking.

$29,581

a year you'd pay a person to do the repeating part

$9,000 to $18,000

a year to run that part as your own software, after a $4K to $8K build

Year one with us is $13,000 to $26,000 CAD, build included. Automation doesn't replace the person who handles judgment and customers. It can mean hiring part-time, hiring later, or giving the person you have the hours back. Our prices are in CAD. See every price

Not sure which part repeats?

Bring the job description to a free 30-minute call. We'll split it into what needs a person and what doesn't.