How to Hire an Employee in Ontario: A Complete Employer Guide (2026)

TLDR: Hiring an employee in Ontario requires more than finding the right person. You need a legally compliant job posting, a properly drafted employment contract, CRA payroll registration, and a structured onboarding process. As of January 2026, employers with 25 or more employees face new obligations including pay disclosure, AI disclosure in job ads, and 45-day candidate notification. This guide covers every step — from writing the job description to your new hire’s first week.

Table of Contents

1. Before You Post: What to Have Ready
2. 2026 Ontario Job Posting Requirements
3. Human Rights Code Compliance in Hiring
4. Making the Offer: Employment Contracts in Ontario
5. CRA Registration and Payroll Setup
6. New Hire Onboarding and Documentation
7. Probationary Periods in Ontario
8. Common Hiring Mistakes and What They Cost
9. When to Get HR Help with Hiring
10. Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Post: What to Have Ready

Most employers jump straight to writing a job ad when a position opens up. That shortcut creates problems later — from an employment contract that doesn’t hold up in court to starting payroll without the proper CRA registrations. Before any posting goes live, make sure you have the following in place.

• A clear job description — not a wish list, but a realistic breakdown of what the role involves, reporting structure, and what success looks like in the first 90 days.
• A defined compensation range — required by law for employers with 25+ employees as of January 2026, and good practice for everyone.
• A CRA payroll account — you cannot legally run payroll without a Business Number and a payroll deductions account. Register at canada.ca before you post.
• A compliant employment contract template — Ontario courts scrutinize termination clauses closely. A poorly drafted contract can result in significant common law notice obligations at termination.
• Your WSIB account — if you are in a Schedule 1 industry, you need a WSIB account to register your new employee and pay premiums.
• An internal pay equity review — if you have 10 or more employees, you have obligations under the Pay Equity Act. A new hire should fit within an existing or new job class.

2026 Ontario Job Posting Requirements

Ontario made significant changes to how employers must advertise jobs, effective January 1, 2026 under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). These obligations apply to employers with 25 or more employees at the time a position is posted publicly.

What Must Be in a 2026 Ontario Job Posting

Requirement	Details	Applies To
Compensation disclosure	State expected pay or a pay range. Range cannot span more than $50,000. Exemption if expected compensation exceeds $200,000 per year.	25+ employees
AI disclosure	If AI is used to screen, assess, or select candidates, the posting must explicitly disclose this.	25+ employees
Vacancy statement	Must state whether the posting is for a real, existing vacancy or speculative pipeline hiring.	25+ employees
No Canadian experience requirement	Cannot require Canadian work experience in postings or application forms.	All employers
45-day candidate notification	Employers who interview candidates for publicly posted positions must notify each candidate of the hiring decision within 45 days of their last interview.	25+ employees
Record retention	All job postings and application forms must be retained for three years after the posting closes.	25+ employees

The maximum ESA administrative penalty has also doubled — from $50,000 to $100,000. For most employers, the risk is not deliberate non-compliance but using the same job ad template year after year without reviewing it against legislative changes.

Job Postings vs. Job Descriptions

Ontario’s new rules apply to publicly advertised job postings — what candidates see on job boards, your website, or LinkedIn. Your internal job description is a separate document used for pay equity, performance management, and HR recordkeeping. Both matter, but only the external posting triggers the 2026 ESA obligations.

See our detailed guide on writing compliant job descriptions in Ontario for what each document should contain and how they differ.

Human Rights Code Compliance in Hiring

Ontario’s Human Rights Code prohibits discrimination at every stage of the hiring process — job posting, application screening, interviews, and the final decision. Employers must not make hiring decisions based on any of the Code’s 17 protected grounds, including race, age, sex, disability, sexual orientation, family status, creed, or place of origin.

What You Cannot Ask in Interviews

Topic	Prohibited Question	Why It Is Off-Limits
Age	“How old are you?” / “When did you graduate?”	Age is a protected ground under the Code
Family status	“Do you have children?” / “Are you planning a family?”	Family status and sex are protected
Disability	“Do you have any health conditions?” / “How many sick days did you take last year?”	Disability is protected; accommodation is addressed post-hire
Country of origin	“Where are you from originally?”	Ancestry, place of origin, and citizenship are protected
Religion	“Are you available Sundays?” if intended to screen for faith observance	Creed is protected; schedules must be accommodated if religious in nature
Criminal record	“Have you ever been convicted of a crime?”	The Code protects against discrimination based on pardoned convictions

You can ask whether a candidate is legally eligible to work in Canada. You cannot probe citizenship status beyond what is needed to verify work authorization.

Structured Interviews Reduce Legal Risk

The most effective defence against human rights complaints in hiring is a structured interview process: the same questions, in the same order, for every candidate, with scoring criteria defined in advance. This creates a defensible record of how decisions were made and why one candidate was selected over another. Research also consistently shows structured interviews outperform unstructured ones in predicting actual job performance.

Making the Offer: Employment Contracts in Ontario

The employment contract is the most legally significant document in the hiring process. Ontario courts regularly encounter situations where an employer hired someone years ago with a brief offer letter, is now facing a termination, and discovers the document doesn’t limit notice obligations. Common law notice for a 10-year employee can reach 12 to 18 months or more. A valid termination clause limits that obligation to ESA minimums — typically weeks, not months.

What Every Ontario Employment Contract Should Include

• Clear start date and role title
• Base compensation and pay frequency
• Hours of work — specify if hours can vary week to week
• Bonus and variable compensation — if discretionary, state this explicitly in writing
• Vacation entitlement — at minimum what the ESA requires, expressed in writing
• Termination clause — must not contract below ESA minimums. Under Waksdale v. Swegon North America, even a flawed just-cause clause can invalidate an otherwise valid without-cause clause.
• Confidentiality obligations — must be reasonable in scope and duration to be enforceable
• No non-compete clauses — banned for most Ontario employees since October 2021 under the Working for Workers Act. Non-solicitation clauses are still permitted if they are reasonable.
• Signed before the first day of work — signing a contract on Day 1 can be legally problematic without providing the employee something new in exchange beyond the job itself

For more on what is at stake when contracts do not hold up, see our guide on termination pay and severance in Ontario.

Employment Information Statement (July 2025 Onward)

Since July 2025, Ontario employers with 25 or more employees must provide every new hire with a prescribed written information statement — before or as soon as reasonably possible after their first day. This covers basic terms of employment and is a separate document from the employment contract. Failing to provide it is an ESA violation that can trigger an administrative penalty.

CRA Registration and Payroll Setup

Before your new hire’s first paycheque, three things must be confirmed with the CRA:

1. Business Number (BN) — your company’s federal tax identifier. Register at canada.ca if you do not already have one.
2. Payroll deductions account (RP account) — used to remit CPP contributions, EI premiums, and income tax withholdings to the CRA on a regular basis.
3. T4 reporting obligation — T4 slips must be issued to every employee by the last day of February following the calendar year.

Required New Hire Documents

Document	Purpose	Deadline
Social Insurance Number (SIN)	Required for payroll deductions and T4 reporting	Within 3 days of hire
TD1 Federal	Determines federal income tax withholding amount	Before first paycheque
TD1 Ontario (TD1ON)	Determines provincial income tax withholding amount	Before first paycheque
Direct deposit information	Required if paying electronically	Before first pay run

WSIB Registration

If your business is in a Schedule 1 industry — which covers most Ontario businesses including construction, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and hospitality — you must register new employees with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. Premiums are based on your industry rate group and reported insurable earnings. Some businesses and their principals are Schedule 2 (self-insuring) or exempt. Confirm your coverage category directly with WSIB if you are unsure.

Employer Health Tax

Ontario employers with annual Ontario payroll exceeding $1,000,000 must pay Employer Health Tax. The exemption threshold is $5,000,000 for eligible charities. If a new hire pushes you over the EHT threshold for the first time, you will need to register with the Ontario Ministry of Finance.

New Hire Onboarding and Documentation

Onboarding is not just an orientation session. Done properly, it sets the foundation for performance, retention, and legal compliance. Done poorly — or skipped — it creates compliance gaps and contributes to early turnover during the most expensive period of any new employment relationship.

Ontario New Hire Onboarding Checklist

Document or Action	Required By	Notes
Signed employment contract	Best practice and legal protection	Must be signed before or on Day 1 with independent consideration
Employment information statement	ESA — employers with 25+ employees, effective July 2025	Prescribed government form with basic employment terms
Social Insurance Number collection	CRA requirement	Within 3 days of hire
TD1 Federal and TD1 Ontario	CRA requirement	Before the first pay run
WHMIS training if applicable	OHSA	Before the employee handles any hazardous materials
Health and safety orientation	OHSA — all employers	All employees; post the OHSA workplace poster
Harassment and violence policy acknowledgment	OHSA — employers with 5+ employees	Employee must receive and sign acknowledgment
Disconnecting from Work policy	ESA — employers with 25+ employees	Provide within 30 days of hire date
Electronic Monitoring policy	ESA — employers with 25+ employees	Provide within 30 days of hire date
Employee handbook acknowledgment	Best practice	Signed acknowledgment creates a paper trail for policy enforcement

For the full 30-60-90 day onboarding framework, see our guide on employee onboarding best practices.

Probationary Periods in Ontario

Ontario’s Employment Standards Act does not formally recognize probationary periods as a special legal status. What the ESA provides is that employees with less than three months of service are not entitled to ESA notice of termination or termination pay. This is widely misunderstood as a blanket probationary right to dismiss without consequences. It is not.

Common law is a separate layer. Courts do not automatically enforce a three-month probationary period as limiting all notice obligations. To limit notice both during and after a stated probationary period, you need an enforceable written termination clause — one that is clearly drafted to apply from Day 1 and that withstands court scrutiny under Waksdale and its progeny.

Also important: terminating an employee during a purported probation period on a discriminatory basis — disability, family status, creed — remains an Ontario Human Rights Code violation regardless of the ESA’s three-month threshold.

Common Hiring Mistakes and What They Cost

Mistake	What Goes Wrong	Potential Cost
No written employment contract	Common law notice applies at termination — typically 1 to 2 months per year of service	Tens of thousands of dollars in termination obligations
US-style offer letters with at-will language	At-will employment does not exist in Ontario; such language may actually strengthen the employee’s common law claim	Full common law reasonable notice
Contract signed on Day 1 without independent consideration	Courts have found contracts unenforceable when nothing new was given to the employee beyond the job offer already accepted	Full common law notice at termination
Asking prohibited interview questions	Rejected candidates may file a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario	Tribunal awards, legal costs, and reputational harm
Missing the 45-day candidate notification rule	ESA violation for employers with 25 or more employees	Administrative penalty up to $100,000
Posting a salary range exceeding $50,000 spread	ESA violation for employers with 25 or more employees	Administrative penalty up to $100,000
Not registering with WSIB before hire	Employer bears full liability for workplace injuries during that period	Full injury costs plus WSIB penalties
Requiring Canadian work experience in job postings	ESA violation and potential Human Rights Code complaint based on place of origin or citizenship	Penalties and HRTO complaint

When to Get HR Help with Hiring

For straightforward roles in small organizations, the steps in this guide are manageable without a dedicated HR team. But there are situations where getting external HR support before you hire — rather than after something goes wrong — is clearly worth the cost:

• Your first employee — foundational documents including the contract, handbook, and payroll setup need to be right from the start, not retrofitted after a dispute arises
• Senior or specialized roles — compensation benchmarking, equity grant structures, and executive employment agreements require specialized knowledge
• Crossing 25 employees for the first time — triggering the 2026 ESA job posting requirements is a common compliance gap for growing companies
• High-volume hiring — filling multiple roles quickly creates documentation inconsistencies and process gaps that compound over time
• Roles where accommodation may be relevant at the offer stage — disability, religious, or family status accommodation considerations require careful handling to avoid human rights liability

A fractional HR consultant or HR consulting engagement can cover the full hiring process — job description, posting review, structured interview guide, contract drafting, and onboarding setup — in a few focused hours. That is often cheaper than the risk of a single employment contract drafted without current Ontario employment law in mind.

See our guide on when to bring in HR support for a headcount-based framework on what level of help makes sense at different stages of organizational growth.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the minimum wage in Ontario in 2026?

The general minimum wage in Ontario is $17.60 per hour as of October 1, 2025. A student minimum wage of $16.60 per hour applies to students under 18 who work 28 hours or fewer per week during school term or during a school break period.

Do I need a written employment contract in Ontario?

Ontario law does not technically require a written employment contract. However, without a signed contract containing an enforceable termination clause, employers face common law reasonable notice obligations at termination that can significantly exceed ESA minimums. A written contract is strongly recommended for every hire regardless of company size or role level.

Can I ask candidates about their previous salary during hiring?

Ontario does not currently have a specific law banning employers from asking about salary history. However, using salary history to set pay can contribute to gender pay gaps and create pay equity liability under the Pay Equity Act. Best practice is to set compensation based on internal equity data and market benchmarks. See our compensation benchmarking guide for Ontario employers.

Is a three-month probationary period legally enforceable in Ontario?

The ESA provides that employees with under three months of service have no entitlement to termination notice or pay. This is not a blanket probationary immunity — it is the ESA’s minimum notice threshold. To limit both ESA and common law termination obligations, a valid written termination clause in the employment contract is required.

What are the 2026 Ontario job posting requirements?

Effective January 1, 2026, Ontario employers with 25 or more employees must include expected compensation or a salary range (maximum $50,000 spread) in publicly posted job ads, disclose AI use in the hiring process, confirm whether a real vacancy exists, and notify all interviewed candidates of the hiring decision within 45 days. Records of all postings and application forms must be retained for three years.

What documents must I collect from a new hire in Ontario?

Collect the employee’s Social Insurance Number within three days of hire, and completed TD1 Federal and TD1 Ontario forms before the first paycheque. Employers with 25 or more employees must also provide the ESA employment information statement before or on the first day. All required policy acknowledgments — harassment and violence, disconnecting from work, electronic monitoring — should be completed during onboarding.