Official definition
This Canadian industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing human resources and human resource management services to clients. These establishments operate in a co-employment relationship with client businesses or organizations and are specialized in performing a wide range of human resource and personnel management duties, such as payroll accounting, payroll tax return preparation, benefits administration, recruitment, and labour relations management. Professional employer establishments typically acquire and lease back some or all of the employees of their clients and serve as the employer of the leased employees for payroll, benefits and related purposes. Professional employer establishments exercise varying degrees of decision making with respect to their human resource or personnel management role, but do not have management accountability for the work of their clients' operations with regard to strategic planning, output or profitability.