Employers compare a $230 fee against a $1,000 fee. Almost nobody calculates the cost of the vacancy itself, and it is usually the larger number.
Overtime
The work does not stop. It gets absorbed by existing staff at premium rates. Two months of covering one position can exceed either government fee on its own.
Turnover it causes
Staff covering a chronic gap leave. Then you are recruiting two positions instead of one, and the replacement costs — advertising, training, lost productivity during ramp-up — repeat.
Reduced hours
In food service the visible version is shortened opening hours, closed sections, or a slower line. That is revenue, not inconvenience.
Management time
Someone is running the search. If that is the owner, the cost is whatever else they would have been doing.
Why this changes the decision
Framed as $230 versus $1,000, the choice looks like a cost comparison. Framed against three months of overtime and a burnt-out shift lead, both fees look small and speed becomes the deciding factor.
That is the case for the LMIA-exempt route: not that it is cheaper, but that the employer's part is finished in days rather than after an advertising period and a labour market assessment.
The stage employers still underestimate
Finding the candidate. Paperwork can be fast; searching can take months. That stage is worth shortening first, because it is the one you control.
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This is general information for employers, not immigration advice.