Canada Ontario HR Information

Updated on: 2025/08/04 14:03 (UTC)

Overview

In Ontario, nonunionized employee relationships are largely governed by the provincial Employment Standards Act and unionized employment relationships by the Labour Relations Act. The Stronger Workplaces for a Stronger Economy Act, enacted in 2014, initiated a new process for annual adjustments to the provincial minimum wage, established new protections for temporary employees, and created new employer requirements for notifying employees of their legal rights under provincial labor law.

Provinces in Canada have exclusive jurisdiction over all aspects of employment relations in most fields of economic activity. The exceptions, subject to federal jurisdiction, are banks, transportation services that cross provincial or international boundaries, airlines, broadcasting, and telecommunications. In addition, unemployment insurance for all Canadian employees is regulated under the federal Employment Insurance Act, and public pension benefits are provided to residents of all provinces except Quebec under the federal Canada Pension Plan.

Hiring

Employment Contracts

There is no requirement to enter into a written employment contract with non-unionized employees. In practice, senior members of an organization typically receive written employment contracts that define the employer’s obligations to that particular employee.

Such contracts will be not be enforceable if the terms are inferior to statutory minimum employment standards or the employee signed the contract under duress. In cases where no written employment contract exists or where the contract does not fully address the terms and conditions of employment, the employment relationship is governed by standards established under the common law.

Employees in Ontario are usually hired for an indeterminate term. Under the common law in Ontario, as in all common law jurisdictions in Canada, either an employer or an employee may terminate such a contract by giving reasonable notice in advance to the other party.

Under the Stronger Workplaces for a Stronger Economy Act, employers are required to give each current employee a copy of the employment standards poster (What You Should Know About the Ontario Employment Standards Act) within 30 days of hire. The poster alerts employees to such basic employment rights as public holidays, minimum wage and overtime.

The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017, prohibits employers from misclassifying employees as “independent contractors.” The provision is intended to address cases where employers improperly treat their employees as if they are self-employed and not entitled to the protections of the ESA. In the event of a dispute, the employer would be responsible for proving that the individual is not an employee.

Restrictions on Hiring

The minimum age for employment in Ontario is 14. Children from 14 to 17 cannot be employed during school hours unless they have been excused from school attendance under provisions of Ontario’s Education Act. There are also restrictions on the types of work in which children under 18 can be employed.

Recordkeeping

Employers must retain, generally for three years, the following information about each employee:

• name, address and date when employment began;
• date of birth if the employee is a student under the age of 18;
• daily and weekly hours worked by each employee who is not paid a fixed amount;
• daily and weekly overtime hours;
• copies of every agreement made with an employee to work excess hours or to average overtime pay;
• information contained in a wage statement; and
• all documents relating to an employee’s pregnancy, parental, personal emergency, family caregiver, family medical, critically ill child care, organ donor, reservist and crime-related child death or disappearance leave.

Employers must also keep records of the vacation time earned by an employee from the date of hire but not yet taken before the start of the vacation entitlement year; the vacation time earned during the vacation entitlement year; vacation time taken (if any) during the vacation entitlement year; and the amount of vacation time earned from the date of hire but not taken as of the end of the vacation entitlement year. The records must be retained for three years after they are made.

The employer also must keep records of the vacation pay paid to the employee during the vacation entitlement year (if any) and how that vacation pay was calculated. These records must be made no later than seven days after the start of the next vacation entitlement year (or first vacation entitlement year if the records relate to a stub period) or the first payday after the next vacation entitlement year ends (or first vacation entitlement year if the records relate to a stub period), whichever is later.

Under the Employment Protection of Foreign Nationals Act, employers who employ a foreign national must record the name and address of any person to whom the employer made a payment for finding the foreign national, along with the date and amount of payment. The employer must retain these records for seven years after the earlier of:

• the date on which the employee ceases to be employed by the employer, or
• the date on which the employee becomes a permanent resident.

Employers must keep records of:

• the dates and times an employee was scheduled to work,
• the dates and times the employee worked, and
• the date and time of any cancellations of a scheduled day of work.

Background Checks

Employers may perform a credit check on any employee or prospective employee for any job. Employers generally are also permitted to conduct a criminal background check for prospective or current employees. In some cases, such as when an individual will be working with vulnerable people such as children or elderly persons, a criminal background check may be required by law. However, it is advisable to conduct a criminal background check only where it is reasonable in light of the job.

Employers must receive prospective employees’ consent prior to conducting criminal records checks. The information obtained from the criminal records check must be disclosed to the prospective employee before being provided to the employer. Employers cannot use or disclose the results of the check except for the purpose for which it was requested or as authorized by law.

Noncompetition Agreements

Employers cannot enter into employment contracts or other agreements with employees that are, or that include, non-compete agreements. Employees or prospective employees who refuse to sign such agreements are protected by the ESA’s reprisal protection.

Non-compete agreements are defined as any agreement, or part of an agreement, between an employer and an employee that restricts the employee from engaging in any business, occupation, or project that is in competition with the employer’s business after the employment relationship between the employee and the employer ends

An exception applies if all or part of the business is sold and the purchaser and seller enter a non-compete agreement with respect to the seller and the seller becomes an employee of the purchaser immediately after the sale.

Reference Citations

Employment Contracts: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, § 1; Stronger Workplaces for a Stronger Economy Act, 2014, S.O. 2014, ch. 10, Bill 10; Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Employee Status); Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual (“Employee” Definition)

Restrictions on Hiring: Occupational Safety and Health Act, R.R.O., 1990, Regulation 851; Minimum Age, Fact Sheet

Recordkeeping: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, § 15; Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual (Records) ; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Record keeping); Employment Protection of Foreign Nationals Act; Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, S.O. 2004, ch. 3, Sched. A;

Background checks: Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015 §§ 7-9

Noncompetition agreements: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, §§ 67.1-67.2; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Non-compete agreements); Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual ((Non-complete agreements)

Immigration and Work Permits

In General

An individual not a citizen or permanent resident must have a work permit to be legally employed in Canada. A work permit is usually very specific and valid for only a particular employer, a particular job, and a limited time. The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) helps employers to hire international talent.

Visas and Work Permits

Employers can hire temporary workers through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) or the International Mobility Program (IMP). The TFWP lets employers hire temporary workers to fill temporary labor and skill shortages. Employers will need to obtain a document from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)/Service Canada stating that they can hire the temporary worker. This is known as a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). An LMIA verifies that there is a need for a temporary worker and that no Canadians are available to do the job.

Employers hiring temporary foreign workers and offering them a wage that is below the provincial or territorial median hourly wage are subject to a cap on the proportion of temporary foreign workers that they can hire in low-wage positions at a specific work location.

The International Mobility Program (IMP) lets employers hire temporary workers without an LMIA. Exemptions from the LMIA process are based on broader economic, cultural or other competitive advantages for Canada and reciprocal benefits enjoyed by Canadians and permanent residents.

For more information on visas and work permits, see HR Primer: Canada

Penalties

In Canada, penalties for employers that violate rules regarding the hiring of foreign workers include:

• warnings;
• financial penalties ranging from C$500 to C$100,000 per violation up to an annual maximum C$1 million per employer;
• a ban of one, two, five or 10 years or permanent bans for the most serious violations; and
• publication of the employer’s name on a public list with details of violations and sanctions.

A new method of assessing consequences of noncompliance has also been implemented based on a points system that considers:

• the type of violation,
• an employer’s compliance history,
• the severity of noncompliance and
• the size of the employer’s business (for financial penalties only).

Reference Citations

Visas and Work Permits: Hire a Temporary Worker Through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program; Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program

Nondiscrimination

In General

Employers under provincial jurisdiction in Ontario may not discriminate in making decisions concerning an employee’s hiring, career, pay, or termination based on the following:

• ancestry, colour, race,
• citizenship,
• • creed,
• place of origin,
• disability,
• family status,
• marital status (including single status),
• gender identity, gender expression,
• record of offences,
• sex (including pregnancy and breastfeeding), and
• sexual orientation.

Under the Ontario Human Rights Code, employers and their agents can’t harass or allow employees to harass other employees based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression Employers also cannot pay female employees at wage rates that are less than the wage rates paid to male employees for comparable work.

Employees may file an application with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontariofor a remedial order if they consider that their rights under the Human Rights Code have been violated. The Ontario Human Rights Commission may also file a complaint with the tribunal if it considers this to be in the public interest. The normal time limit for the filing of complaints with the tribunal is one year from the date of the incident or, if a series of incidents is alleged to have occurred, one year from the date of the last incident.

The tribunal will hold an adversarial hearing at which the parties present evidence and examine and cross examine witnesses. If the tribunal allows the complaint, it may award monetary damages for lost wages or expenses incurred due to the discrimination and order that discriminatory conduct cease. The tribunal’s orders are legally binding and may not be appealed, though they are subject to judicial review.

Pay Discrimination

The Employment Standards Act 2000 requires that male and female employees receive equal compensation for performing substantially the same kind of work in the same establishment requiring substantially the same skill effort and responsibility and performed under similar working conditions. Differences in wages are permitted if they result from a seniority or merit system, a system measuring earnings by quantity of production or “any other factor than sex.”

In addition to these prohibitions on sex discrimination in wages, the Ontario Pay Equity Act requires all employers under provincial jurisdiction that have 10 or more employees in the province to develop pay equity plans. These plans involve assessing the value of the work of employees in male- and female-dominated jobs or job classes (defined in the legislation as being 60 percent or more male or female), averaging the wages of these jobs or job classes and increasing the wages of employees in female-dominated jobs or job classes found to be less than those paid male-dominated jobs of equal value. The value of work is a composite of the skill, effort and responsibility a job requires and of the working conditions under which it is performed. Formal systems of job evaluation are required under the Pay Equity Act to determine the values of jobs.

Gender Pay Reporting: Pay equity plans must be developed jointly by the employers and the employees. Where employees are unionized, the plan must be developed jointly with the union. There is normally a separate plan for each bargaining unit and a separate one for nonunionized employees.

Pay equity plans must be posted in prominent places in each establishment. Employers who have to comply with the posting requirement must provide upon request the plan to non-union employees.

Employers must pay temporary, seasonal, casual, or part-time employees the same rate as full-time employees who perform substantially the same job. Differences in pay between employees of different sex or similar employment status are permitted only in cases where the difference is the result of:

• a seniority system,
• a merit system, or
• a system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production.

Reference Citations

Nondiscrimination: Ontario Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, ch H.19, § 5(1); Ontario Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, ch H.19, § 7 (2); Ontario Human Rights Commission (Employment)

Pay Discrimination: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41. §§ 41.2, 42 ; Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017;

Pay Equity Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.7; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Equal pay for equal work) ; Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual (Equal pay for equal work) ;

Employee Privacy

Employee Data

Ontario has not yet enacted private-sector privacy legislation. Until it does, organizations are guided by the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)

PIPEDA instructs that employers may collect, use, or disclose personal information only for purposes that a reasonable person would consider are appropriate in the circumstances. Employers are required to inform the employee of the purpose of the data collection and the means available to the employee to access, correct, and delete the data.

An employer may collect personal information without the knowledge or consent of the individual only when:

• the information is being collected in the course of an investigation into a breach of an agreement or a contravention of the law;
• the information is needed to respond to an emergency that threatens the life, health, or security of an individual; or
• the disclosure is required by law.

Employers are responsible for protecting personal information and the fair handling of it at all times throughout the organization and in dealings with third parties.

Employee Monitoring and Surveillance

The use of a surveillance system must be justified on the basis of verifiable safety concerns or other demonstrable circumstances (for example, specific reports of incidents of crime). Employees must develop a written policy with respect to electronic monitoring of employees.

When determining the necessity of video surveillance as a means to collect personal information, employers should ensure:

• the problem to be addressed by video surveillance is real, substantial and pressing;
• other less intrusive means of achieving the same goals have been considered and are substantially less effective than video surveillance or are not feasible; and
• the benefits of video surveillance substantially outweigh the reduction of privacy inherent in its use.

Under the Digital Platform Workers’ Right Act enacted in 2022, employers with 25 or more employees must develop a written policy with respect to electronic monitoring of employees. The policy must contain information about whether employees are being monitored, and if they are being monitored, the circumstances under which any information obtained may be used. On July 21, 2022, Ontario’s Ministry of Labor released guidance clarifying the province’s new workplace monitoring requirements.

Reference Citations

Employee Data: Canada Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, S.C. 2000 § 7

Employee Monitoring and Surveillance: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41. § 41.1.1; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Electronic monitoring policy); Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual (Electronic monitoring policy) ; Video Surveillance Guidelines, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

Compensation

Hours of Work

The normal workday is eight hours. The normal workweek may not exceed 48 hours. Compressed workweeks or arrangements to average an employee’s hours of work over a two-week period are permitted by agreement between employers and employees in some circumstances, but hours of work in any one week may not exceed 60. Employees must have at least 24 consecutive hours off each workweek or 48 consecutive hours off every two workweeks.

In cases where the employee is not represented by a union, an averaging agreement will not be valid unless it provides for a start date and an expiry date (which cannot be more than two years after the start date).

Employers must give employees an information sheet before they agree to work in excess of the daily or weekly ESA limits on hours of work. The excess hours agreement entered into between the employer and the employee must include a statement by the employee acknowledging receipt of the information sheet..

Employees also must be given a period of at least 11 consecutive hours free from performing work each day and at least eight hours free from work between shifts unless the total time worked on successive shifts does not exceed 13 hours or the employer and the employee agree otherwise.

Employees are entitled to a meal break of at least 30 minutes for every five hours worked.

Employees who regularly work more than three hours per day must be paid for three hours’ work at their regular pay if they are required to work and work for less than three hours despite being available to work longer.

Right to Disconnect: Under the ESA, employees have a right to be able to disengage from work and refrain from engaging in work-related electronic communications, such as e-mails, telephone calls or other messages, outside normal working hours. Employers that employ 25 or more workers are required to have a written policy on disconnecting from work in place for all employees.

Minimum Wage

Effective Oct. 1, 2023, the minimum hourly wage in Ontario is C$16.55. From Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023, the minimum hourly wage is C$15.50.

Under the Canada Labour Code, the minimum wage established by the province is applicable to federally regulated employees working within the province.

If an employee works on a public holiday that is not a regularly scheduled working day, the employee is entitled to a regular day’s pay and to “premium pay” at the rate of one and a half times the employee’s regular rate for the time worked on the holiday. Employees in continuous operations—such as hospitals, restaurants and hotels—who work on a public holiday may either be paid their regular rate for the day and be given another day off or be paid their regular rate plus premium pay.

Overtime

Overtime must be paid to most employees coming under provincial jurisdiction in Ontario if they work over 44 hours in a week. Overtime is payable at the rate of one and a half times the employee’s regular hourly pay. An employee’s hours of work may be averaged over two or more consecutive weeks in some circumstances for purposes of calculating overtime entitlement.

Employers and employees may agree to paid time off at the rate of one and a half hours for each hour of overtime worked in lieu of overtime pay.

Managerial and supervisory employees and members of professions specified in regulations issued under the Employment Standards Act 2000 are not covered by these provisions.

Wage Payment

Under the Employment Standards Act 2000, employees must be paid on a regular payday established by the employer. Biweekly payments are the norm in practice.

Employers may only make deductions from an employee’s pay that are:

• required by a statute (e.g., income tax legislation),
• required by a court order or judgment,
• authorized by a collective agreement binding on the employee or
• personally authorized in writing by the employee.

The Employment Standards Act 2000 explicitly prohibits deductions for faulty workmanship or for cash shortages or loss of property if anyone other than the employee had access to the cash or property.

The fact that an employee’s wages are subject to a garnishment order would not in itself constitute cause for termination.

Client companies will be liable for any compensation an employment agency fails to pay temporary employees.

Mandatory Bonuses

There are no provisions governing bonuses in Ontario’s labor code.

Reference Citations

Hours of work: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, §§ 17-18; Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Hours of work); Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual (Hours of work and eating periods)

Minimum Wage: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, § 23; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Minimum wage rates); Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017

Overtime: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, § 22; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Overtime pay); Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual (Overtime pay )

Wage Payment: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, § 11; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Payment of wages); Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual (Payment of wages); Stronger Workplaces for a Stronger Economy Act, 2014, S.O. 2014, ch. 10, Bill 10

Benefits

Vacation

Employees in provincially regulated industries in Ontario are entitled to a minimum of two weeks’ paid vacation after each year of employment. Employees are entitled to vacation pay equal to at least 4 percent of their earnings for the year in which the vacation is taken.

Employers must provide at least three weeks of vacation and vacation pay equal to at least 6 percent of wages to employees who have five or more years of service.

The employer must pay the vacation allowance to the employee in a lump sum before the employee commences his or her vacation.

The employer determines when employees may take their vacation, subject to the following rules:

• the vacation must be completed no later than 10 months after the end of the vacation entitlement year for which it is given, and
• the vacation must be a two-week period or two periods of one week each unless the employee requests in writing that the vacation be taken in shorter periods and the employer agrees to such terms.

Generally employees cannot carry over unused vacation from one year to the next, although they may be allowed to forego vacation if their employer and the Labour Ministry approve the request. If an employee foregoes vacation, he or she is still entitled to vacation pay.

Holidays

Employees are entitled to nine paid (statutory) holidays:

• Jan. 1: New Year’s Day
• Family Day (3rd Monday in February)
• Good Friday
• Victoria Day (3rd Monday in May)
• July 1: Canada Day
• Labour Day (1st Monday in September)
• Thanksgiving Day (2nd Monday in October)
• Dec. 25: Christmas Day
• Dec. 26: Boxing Day

While some employers give their employees a holiday on Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, the first Monday in August or Remembrance Day (Nov. 11), the employer is not required to do so under the ESA.

If a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, it is normally celebrated the following Monday.

Most employees who qualify are entitled to take these days off work and be paid public holiday pay. Alternatively, they can agree in writing to work on the holiday and they will be paid:

• public holiday pay plus premium pay of one and a half times their regular rate for the hours worked on the public holiday or
• their regular rate for hours worked on the holiday and be given another day off (called a “substitute” holiday) with public holiday pay. If the employee has earned a substitute day off with public holiday pay, the public holiday pay calculation is done with respect to the four workweeks before the workweek in which the substitute day off falls.

Some employees may be required to work on a public holiday. While most employees are eligible for the public holiday entitlement, some employees work in jobs that are not covered by the public holiday provisions of the ESA.

Holiday pay must equate to the total amount of regular wages earned and vacation pay payable to the employee in the four work weeks before the work week in which the public holiday occurred, divided by 20.

If a public holiday falls during an employee’s annual vacation, the employee may take an additional day off at another time mutually agreed on with the employer. Employees and employers may agree to substitute another day for a general holiday.

Employees have no entitlement to a public holiday if they fail, without reasonable cause, to work all of their last regularly scheduled day of work before the public holiday or all of their first regularly scheduled day of work after the public holiday.

Pregnancy Leave

Pregnant employees are entitled to up to 17 consecutive weeks of pregnancy leave. Parents also have the right to take unpaid parental leave for a newborn or newly adopted child. Birth mothers who take pregnancy leave are entitled to up to 61 weeks of parental leave. Birth mothers who do not take pregnancy leave and all other new parents are entitled to up to 63 weeks of parental leave.

The right to parental leave is independent of the right to pregnancy leave. For example, a birth father could be on parental leave at the same time the birth mother is on either her pregnancy leave or her parental leave.

A pregnant employee is entitled to pregnancy leave whether she is a full-time, part-time, permanent, or term-contract employee provided that:

• she is employed by an employer covered by the Employment Standards Act and
• she started her employment at least 13 weeks before the date her baby is expected to be born.

The earliest a pregnancy leave can begin is 17 weeks before the employee’s due date. An employee may decide to take a shorter leave if she wishes, but once an employee has started her pregnancy leave, she must take it all at once.

An employee must give her employer at least two weeks’ written notice before beginning her pregnancy leave. An employer may require an employee to provide a certificate from a medical practitioner stating the baby’s due date.

Employees are not entitled to maternity leave if their due date falls fewer than 13 weeks after their employment began. Employees who suffer a still-birth or miscarriage are entitled to 12 weeks’ leave.

Employees returning from pregnancy or parental leave are entitled to reinstatement to the same job they had before the leave began or a comparable job if their old job no longer exists. In either case, the employee must be paid at least as much as he or she was earning before the leave.

An employer cannot penalize an employee in any way because the employee is or will be eligible to take pregnancy or parental leave or for taking or planning to take pregnancy or parental leave.

The federal Employment Insurance Act provides eligible employees with maternity and/or parental benefits that may be payable to the employee during the period they are off on pregnancy or parental leave.

Paternity Leave

There is no legal entitlement to paternity leave, although a father may be eligible for up to 63 weeks of unpaid parental leave. Employers are not required to make any payments to the employee or pay for any benefits during parental leave. The employee may be eligible for benefits under the Employment Insurance Program.

A father is entitled to parental leave whether he is a full-time, part-time, permanent, or term-contract employee provided that:

• he is employed by an employer that is covered by the Employment Standards Act, and
• he started his employment at least 13 weeks before commencing parental leave.

Fathers must begin their parental leave no later than 78 weeks after:

• the date their baby is born; or
• the date their child first came into their care, custody, and control.

Fathers returning from parental leave are entitled to reinstatement to the same job they had before the leave began or a comparable job if their old job no longer exists. In either case, the employee must be paid at least as much as he was earning before the leave.

Sick Leave

Employees who have been employed at least two weeks are entitled to three days of unpaid sick leave which may be used for personal illness, injury, or medical emergency. The leave must be taken in entire days and cannot be duplicated if the employment contract establishes similar leave. Employers can require employees to provide medical notes to substantiate the absence.

Employers must provide employees up to three days’ paid leave pay if they need time off work due to Covid-19-related circumstances, such as getting vaccinated, self-isolating, getting tested, or being sick with the virus. Employers can apply to be reimbursed by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board for payments under this program, up to a maximum of C$200 per day per employee. The duration of this program has been extended several times. On July 21, 2022, the government issued a new regulation extending the program’s expiry date to March 31, 2023. Prior to this extension, the program was scheduled to expire on July 30, 2022.

Other Leave

Family responsibility leave. Employees who have been employed at least two weeks are entitled to three days of unpaid family responsibility leave which can be used for illness, injury, medical emergency, or an urgent matter relating to relating to family members. The leave must be taken in entire days and cannot be duplicated if the employment contract establishes similar leave. Employers can require employees to provide medical notes to substantiate the absence.

Bereavement leave. Employees who have been employed at least two weeks are entitled to two days of unpaid bereavement leave due to the death of certain family members.

Family medical leave. All employees are entitled to family medical leave to care for the employee’s spouse, parent, child, stepchild, or other individual dependent on the employee for care or assistance. Leave is available if a medical practitioner certifies that the person to be cared for has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death within 26 weeks. In such cases, the employee is entitled to up to 28 weeks’ unpaid leave in a 52-week period.

Reservist leave. Employers are required to give unpaid leave to employees who are reservists in the Canadian armed forces and who are deployed on operations outside Canada, inside Canada providing assistance in an emergency, and participating in Canadian Forces military skills training. Employees must have been employed for at least three months to be eligible for the leave and must give the employer reasonable written notice in advance. Employees continue to participate in employers’ benefit plans during the leave and must be reinstated to their former positions–or to a comparable one if the former position no longer exists—when the deployment ends.

Crime-related child death or disappearance leave. Employees who have been employed by their employer for at least six consecutive months are entitled to up to 104 weeks of unpaid leave if a child of the employee dies and it is probable that the child died as a result of a crime. Employees are entitled to up to 104 weeks of unpaid leave if their child disappears as a result of a crime.

Child death leave. Employees who have been employed by their employer for at least six consecutive months are entitled to up to 104 weeks of unpaid leave if a child of the employee dies from any cause.

Critical illness leave. Employees who have been employed by their employer for at least six consecutive months are entitled to:

• 17 weeks’ unpaid leave within a 52-week period to provide care for a critically ill adult family member and
• 37 weeks’ unpaid leave within a 52-week period to provide care to a critically ill child of the employee.

Organ donor leave. Employees who have been employed by their employer for at least 13 weeks are entitled to unpaid organ donor leave for up to 13 weeks for the purpose of undergoing surgery to donate all or part of certain organs to a person. In some cases, organ donor leave can be extended for up to an additional 13 weeks.

Domestic/sexual violence leave. Employees who have been employed for at least 13 consecutive weeks are entitled to up to 17 weeks of leave per calendar year where that employee or the employee’s child experiences domestic or sexual violence or the threat of sexual or domestic violence. Ten of the days can be taken a day at a time for circumstances such as medical appointments. The remaining 15 weeks of leave can be taken for reasons that require more time (e.g., to make moving arrangements). The first five days of this leave must be paid. The rest are unpaid.

Declared emergency leave. Unpaid, job-protected emergency leave is available only when an emergency is declared in Ontario. To be eligible for the leave, employees must not be able to work because of a government or health order, or a need to provide care for certain family members. There is no minimum service requirement for the leave. An employee on emergency leave has the right to continue participating in the employer’s benefit plans and to require the employer to pay its share of the contributions during the leave.

Infectious disease leave. Employees are entitled to job-protected leave without pay if they are unable to work for any of the following reasons:

• they are in quarantine or isolation, or are subject to a control measure implemented in relation to a designated infectious disease by a public health authorities;
• the employer has instructed employees not to work due to concerns they may expose other individuals in the workplace to the designated infectious disease;
• the employee is under medical investigation, supervision, or treatment related to a designated infectious disease;
• the employee is acting in accordance with an order under the Health Protection and Promotion Act;
• the employee cares for a person(s) for a reason related to a designated infectious disease, such as a school or daycare closure; or
• the employee cannot return to Ontario due to travel restrictions.

Employees are not required to provide a medical note should they need to take infectious disease emergency leave. However, the employer may require an employee to provide other evidence that is “reasonable in the circumstances, at a time that is reasonable in the circumstances” to support such a leave.

Pensions and Social Security

Employees in Ontario are covered by the federal Canada Pension Plan, regardless of whether they work in industries under federal or provincial jurisdiction.

Employers often provide private supplemental pension plans of either a defined contribution or a defined benefit nature and may also provide employees with the opportunity to participate in a group registered retirement savings plan.

For more information on Canada Pension Plan, see HR Primer: Canada

Workers’ Compensation

Employees who suffer a work-related injury or illness are compensated for lost wages by the Workers’ Compensation Board. The board also pays for medical care and rehabilitation of employees.

All employers in Ontario are required to make payments into the workers’ compensation fund administered by the Workers’ Compensation Board under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act. The size of an employer’s payments is largely determined by the number of its employees in Ontario, the type of industry the employer is engaged in, and its individual experience rating.

Reference Citations

Vacation: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, §§ 33-41.1; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Vacation); Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual (Vacation with pay)

Holidays: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, §§ 24-32; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Public holidays) ; Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual (Public holidays)

Pregnancy Leave: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, §§ 46-47; Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Pregnancy and parental leave) ; Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual (Pregnancy leave)

Paternity Leave: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, §§ 48-49; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Pregnancy and parental leave); Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual ( Parental leave)

Sick Leave: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, § 50; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Sick leave); Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual ( Sick leave);

Family Responsibility Leave: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, § 50.0.1; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Family responsibility leave); Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual (Family responsibility leave)

Bereavement Leave: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, § 50.0.2; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Bereavement leave) ; Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual ( Bereavement leave)

Family Medical Leave: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, § 49.1 Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Family medical leave); Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual (Family medical leave)

Reservist Leave: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, § 50.2; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide ( Reservist leave); Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual ( Reservist leave)

Crime-Related Child Disappearance Leave: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, § 46.6; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Crime-related child disappearance leave) ; Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual (Crime-related child disappearance leave)

Child Death Leave: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, § 49.5; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Child death leave) ; Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual (Child death leave)

Critical Illness Leave: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, § 49.4; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Critical illness leave) ; Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual (Critical illness leave)

Organ Donor Leave: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, § 49.2; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide ( Organ donor leave) ; Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual ( Organ donor leave)

Domestic or Sexual Violence Leave: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, § 49.7; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Domestic or sexual violence leave) ; Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual (Domestic or sexual violence leave)

Declared Emergency Leave: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, § 50.1; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Declared emergency leave); Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual (Declared emergency leave)

Infectious Disease Leave: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, § 50.1; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Infectious disease leave) ; Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual (Infectious disease leave)

Pensions and Social Security: Canada Pension Plan, R.S.C., 1985, ch. C-8

Workers’ Compensation: Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, ch. 16, Sched. A

Labor Relations

In General

Under the constitution and various labor laws, Canadian employees have the right to form and join unions, to bargain collectively, and to strike. In Ontario, unionized employment relationships are largely governed by the provincial Labour Relations Act.

The labor relations system in all Canadian jurisdictions is one in which collective bargaining takes place between a single employer and the union recognized or certified as the exclusive bargaining agent for a group of the employer’s employees forming a bargaining unit. Unions are certified as exclusive bargaining agents by labor relations boards if they show they have the support of a majority of the employees in the proposed bargaining unit. Majority support may be determined following a vote by the employees or on the basis of membership cards.

Right to Organize

A trade union may apply for certification as the exclusive bargaining agent for a group of employees if it presents evidence satisfactory to the Ontario Labour Relations Board that it represents at least 40 percent of the employees in the proposed bargaining unit. Almost invariably, this evidence takes the form of union membership cards. If the board is satisfied that at least 40 percent of the employees in the proposed bargaining unit are represented by the union, it will hold a secret-ballot representation vote within five business days of the date the board receives the certification application. The union is certified if it obtains a majority of the votes cast in the representation vote.

When a union is certified or recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent, the union and the employer are required to negotiate in good faith with a view to entering into a collective agreement. Collective agreements are required to have a term of at least one year in all Canadian jurisdictions.

Dispute Resolution

The Ontario Labour Relations Board has the power to issue legally binding decisions on the certification of unions as exclusive bargaining agents, unfair labor practice complaints, bargaining in bad faith complaints, successor rights in case of dispositions of all or part of a business and complaints of illegal strikes or lockouts.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development provides mediation at the request of either a union or an employer to assist the parties to reach an agreement. The Ontario minister of labor also has discretion to name a mediator for this purpose. Mediation is one of a number of steps—including good faith collective beginning—required before parties can engage in a legal strike or lockout.

Strikes and Lockouts

Strikes and lockouts are only permitted in limited circumstances in industries coming under provincial jurisdiction in Ontario. The Ontario Labour Relations Board may issue cease-and-desist orders against unlawful work stoppages.

Picketing in Ontario is regulated by the common law, and peaceful picketing of an employer’s worksite is permitted during a lawful strike or lockout. Peaceful picketing is also permitted at other sites, such as publicly accessible areas of a shopping center or at the places of business of other employers the union considers to be allies of the employer involved in the labor dispute.

Picketing may be limited—or prohibited, if unlawful—by means of injunctions issued by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Employers are required to reinstate employees upon request at any time following the commencement of a lawful strike.

Successorship Clauses

Ontario’s Labour Relations Act safeguards the rights of employees during and after mergers or acquisitions. To the extent there is a transfer of undertaking from one owner (the predecessor employer) to another (the successor employer), the code provides for the continued observance of the working conditions agreed to in any collective agreement until the date of termination or expiration of the agreement or the entry into force or application of another agreement.

Reference Citations

Right to Organize: Labour Relations Act, 1995, S.O. 1995, ch. 1, Sched. A, §§ 5-10, 56

Dispute Resolution: Labour Relations Act, 1995, S.O. 1995, ch. 1, Sched. A, § 114; Ontario Labour Relations Board (Jurisdiction and Legislation) ; (Collective bargaining), Government of Ontario

Strikes and Lockouts: Labour Relations Act, 1995, S.O. 1995, ch. 1, Sched. A, § 46; Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017; (Strikes and lock-outs), Government of Ontario

Successorship Clauses: Labour Relations Act, 1995, S.O. 1995, ch. 1, Sched. A, §§ 68-69.1

Safety, Health and Security

In General

The Occupational Health and Safety Act and the regulations issued under it set out comprehensive standards aimed at ensuring workplace safety in industries under provincial jurisdiction in Ontario. These standards include the preparation of a written workplace safety and health program if an employer regularly employs 20 or more workers.

Workplace Safety and Health

Occupational health and safety regulations and the Occupational Health and Safety Act set out specific technical standards for equipment safety, safe handling of toxic substances and safe working practices. Workplaces with 20 or more employees must have a joint occupational health and safety committee. The committee is composed of equal numbers of employer and employee representatives. Where employees are unionized, the union selects the employee representatives on the joint committee. If a workplace has between six and 19 employees, they select a health and safety representative.

Committees and safety representatives may conduct safety inspections and make safety recommendations to the employer. Ontario occupational health and safety legislation provides for fines for employers and individuals guilty of violations of its worker safety provisions.

All employers must prepare a policy that addresses workplace violence and workplace harassment and must review that policy at least once a year. The policies must be written and posted in a conspicuous place at the work place, unless the employer regularly employs five or fewer employees.

The Stronger Workplaces for a Stronger Economy Act extends coverage under the Occupational Health and Safety Act to unpaid students and unpaid interns, giving them the right to know about workplace hazards and the right to refuse unsafe work.

Employers are prohibited from requiring an employee to wear footwear with an elevated heal, for example, high heels, at work, unless such footwear is required for the worker’s safety.

The maximum fines for violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act are C$1,500,000 for directors and officers of a corporation and C$500,000 for other individuals. The Workplace Safety and Insurance Act allows workers to receive benefits for illnesses related to mental stress.

Drug and Alcohol Use

Employers under provincial jurisdiction in Ontario have obligations under the Criminal Code and occupational health and safety legislation to maintain safe workplaces. Particularly where a workplace is inherently dangerous, employers may establish rules prohibiting employee impairment by drugs or alcohol while at work and requiring testing in some circumstances.

Drug and alcohol testing may take place where an employer has reasonable grounds to suspect that a particular employee may be impaired or as part of a general policy of testing all employees involved in a safety-related incident. Testing of a particular employee on a random basis may also be permissible as part of a return-to-work program for an employee following treatment for drug or alcohol dependency.

Random drug or alcohol testing may be permissible for employees in inherently dangerous workplaces if the employer demonstrates the existence of a widespread problem of drug or alcohol impairment among those employees.

Employers may impose disciplinary sanctions, including termination, on employees who are impaired by drugs or alcohol at work.

If an employee is addicted to alcohol or drugs, the addiction is considered a disability under Ontario human rights legislation. Such a disability engages a duty to accommodate the employee up to the point of undue hardship for the employer.

Employees may not smoke or hold lighted tobacco or medical cannabis, or use an electronic cigarette in an enclosed workplace. Employers must post signs throughout the enclosed workplace that give employees notice about these restrictions.

The Working for Workers Act of 2022, effective June 1, 2023, amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act to require certain employers to provide naloxone kits if the employer becomes aware, or ought reasonably to be aware, that there may be a risk of a worker having an opioid overdose at a workplace where that worker performs work for the employer.

Reference Citations

Workplace Safety and Health: Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O. 1990, ch O.1, §§ 9(2), 25; Bill 177, Stronger, Fairer Ontario Act, 2017; Bill 174, Cannabis, Smoke-Free Ontario and Road Safety Statute Amendment Act, S.O. 2017; Guide to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (Duties of employers) ; Guide to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (Offences and penalties)

Drug and Alcohol Use: Working for Workers Act of 2022;O. Reg. 559/22: Naloxone Kits

Termination

Termination by Employer

The Ontario Employment Standards Act provides for minimum notice-of-termination periods of between one and eight weeks, depending on the length of the employee’s service, for employees who have been employed for three months or more. The employer has the option of providing pay in lieu of notice.

In some cases, employees are not entitled to notice of termination or termination pay, such as when they are guilty of willful misconduct, disobedience, or willful neglect of duty. There are also some situations where an employer cannot terminate an employee’s employment even if the employer is prepared to give proper written notice or termination pay. For example, an employer cannot end someone’s employment, or penalize them in any other way, if any part of the reason for the termination of employment is based on the employee exercising a right under the Employment Standards Act, such as refusing to work in excess of the daily or weekly hours of work maximums, or taking a leave of absence specified in the law.

Plant Closings and Mass Layoffs

Special rules for notice of termination apply when the employment of 50 or more employees is terminated at an employer’s establishment within a four-week period. When a mass termination occurs, the employer must submit the “Notice of Termination of Employment” form to the Director of Employment Standards. In addition to providing employees with individual notices of termination, the employer must post a copy of the form provided to the Director of Employment Standards in the workplace where it will come to the attention of the employees it affects on the first day of the notice period.

The amount of notice employees must receive in a mass termination is not based on the employees’ length of employment, but on the number of employees who have been terminated. An employer must give:

• 8 weeks’ notice if the employment of 50 to 199 employees is to be terminated,
• 12 weeks’ notice if the employment of 200 to 499 employees is to be terminated and
• 16 weeks’ notice if the employment of 500 or more employees is to be terminated.

These provisions do not apply if not more than 10 percent of the employees at an establishment are to be terminated and the terminations are not due to the permanent discontinuance of all or part of the business of the establishment.

An employee who has received termination notice under the mass termination rules who wants to resign before the termination date provided in the employer’s notice must give the employer at least one week’s written notice of resignation if the employee has been employed for less than two years. If the employment period has been two years or more, the employee must give at least two weeks’ written notice of resignation.

Payment on Termination

Upon termination of employment, an employee is entitled to any vacation pay owing for the prior completed year of work and prorated vacation pay for the current vacation year.

Employees also must be given severance pay if they have been employed for at least five years by an employer with an annual payroll of C$2.5 million or more in Ontario and their employment is terminated due to the permanent discontinuance of all or part of the employer’s business. At least 50 employees at an establishment of the employer must have had their employment terminated within a six-month period for this provision to apply.

Termination Without Notice (Severance Pay): Under the statutory severance pay provision, if an employer terminates the employment without providing the notice of termination, the severance pay amount entitled to the employee is calculated as if the employee continued to be employed for a period equal to the period of notice that the employer failed to provide. However, an employee who has been given a written notice of termination can resign and continue to keep the right to severance pay, if the employee provides the employer with two weeks’ written notice of resignation.

Termination pay must be paid to an employee either seven days after the employee’s employment is terminated or on the employee’s next regular pay date, whichever is later.

Unemployment Insurance

Unemployment insurance is a federal responsibility under the Employment Insurance Act, which provides benefits to temporarily unemployed workers and to employees taking maternity, paternity or parental leave. This insurance provides regular benefits to individuals who lose their jobs through no fault of their own and are available for and willing to work but who cannot find employment.

Both employers and employees make contributions at a rate set at an amount per C$100 of insurable earnings, which is reviewed annually. Insurable earnings, on which unemployment insurance premiums and payments are based, are also revised annually.

Employees must generally have worked from 420 to 700 hours in the year preceding the claim to be eligible for unemployment insurance benefits.

Reference Citations

Termination by Employer: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, §§ 54-61; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Termination of employment) ; Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual (Termination and severance of employment)

Plant Closings and Mass Layoffs: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, § 58

Payment on Termination: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, ch. 41, §§ 64, 76 ; Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide (Termination of employment) ; Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual (Termination and severance of employment)

Unemployment Insurance: Canada Employment Insurance Act, S.C. 1996, ch. 23; Overview: Employment Insurance Sickness Benefits, Government of Canada

Personal Taxes

Residency Requirements

An individual is considered a resident for tax purposes if he or she has residential ties in Canada. Residential ties include a home or personal property, a spouse or common-law partner and dependents and social or economic ties.

An individual without residential ties to Canada may also be deemed resident if temporarily present in Canada for 183 days or more in a tax year.

Taxable Income

Individuals resident in Canada during a tax year are subject to Canadian income tax on their worldwide income from all sources. A nonresident is generally only subject to Canadian tax on income from Canadian sources.

Tax Rates

The federal rates and bands differ from those of the provinces and territories and the provincial and territorial rates and bands likewise differ amongst themselves. In Ontario, the provincial income tax rates range from 5.05 percent to 13.16 percent.

Reference Citations

Residency Requirements: Canada Income Tax Act

Taxable Income: Ontario Income Tax Act

Tax Rates: Canadian Income Tax Rates for Individuals

Web References

Law and Regulation

Canada Pension Plan

Canada Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act

Canada Employment Insurance Act Regulations

CanLII (Ontario and federal statutes)

Ontario Employment Protection of Foreign Nationals Act

Ontario Employment Standards Act

Ontario Labour Relations Act

Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act

Ontario Human Rights Code

Ontario Pay Equity Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.7

Ontario Stronger Workplaces for a Stronger Economy Act

Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Act

Government Websites and Publications

Collective Bargaining Ontario

Ontario Employment Standards Act Guide

Ontario Employment Standards Act Policy and Interpretation Manual

Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario

Labour Relations Board

Ministry of Labour

Minimum Wage Rates

Pay Equity Commission

Service Canada

Workplace Safety Insurance Board