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Overview

Employers (and in some cases recruiters) are required to give employees certain information or informational documents in the following circumstances:

Employment standards poster

Employers must provide all employees covered under the Employment Standards Act (ESA) with a copy of the most recent version of the poster within 30 days of the person becoming an employee.

Employment information

As of July 1, 2025, employers who employ 25 or more employees on a new employee’s first day of work are required to provide that new employee with specified information about the job, in writing, before the employee’s first day of work. If that is not practicable, then the information must be provided to the employee as soon after their first day of work as is reasonably possible.

Learn more about this requirement, including what information must be provided.

Information sheets

Employers must also provide employees with one or more information sheets:

Under the Employment Protection for Foreign Nationals Act (EPFNA), recruiters must provide foreign nationals with information sheets where the recruiter contacts — or is contacted by — the foreign national in connection with employment.

Formats allowed

Employers and recruiters may provide the required information as:

  • a printed copy
  • an attachment in an email to the employee, if the employee has access to a printer
  • a link to the document on an internet database, if the employee:
    • has reasonable access to a computer (or other device such as a tablet or smart phone) that can access the link and to a printer
    • knows how to use the computer and printer

If the employee needs a poster or information sheet in a language other than English, the employer or recruiter must give it to the employee in their preferred language, if it is available. The translated poster or information sheet must be given in addition to the English version.

Employment standards poster

The ministry has prepared and published a poster called Employment Standards in Ontario (also known as the employment standards poster) to help employees and employers understand their rights and obligations under the Employment Standards Act (ESA).

Employers are only required to provide each employee with the poster once. There is no requirement to provide employees with the poster every time a new version is published.

Get a free ESA poster

You can get a copy of the employment standards poster by:

Employment information

Effective July 1, 2025, employers who employ 25 or more employees on a new employee’s first day of work are required to provide that new employee the following information, in writing:

  • legal name of the employer, as well as any operating or business name if different from the legal name
  • contact information for the employer, including address, telephone number and one or more contact names
  • a general description of where it is anticipated that the employee will initially work (no address required — a general description is sufficient)
  • the employee’s starting hourly or other wage rate or commission, as applicable
  • the pay period and pay day
  • a general description of the employee’s initial anticipated hours of work (daily or weekly hours not required — a general description is sufficient)

This information must be provided to the employee before their first day of work. If it is not practicable to provide the information before the employee’s first day of work, then it must be provided as soon after that date as is reasonably possible.

An employee’s first day of work may be considered the first day of their trial period if the skills being assessed are either:

  • skills used by the employer’s employees
  • skills that could be used by employees (if there are no other employees)

25 or more employees on the employee’s first day of work

Only employers that employ 25 or more employees in Ontario on the employee’s first day of work are required to provide the above employment information.

To determine how many employees they have, the employer must count the number of employees it employs on the employee’s first day of work.

It is the individual number of employees that are counted, and not the number of "full-time equivalents." Part-time employees and casual employees each count as one employee, regardless of the number of hours they work.

Multiple locations

Where an employer has multiple locations, all employees employed at each location in Ontario must be included when determining whether the 25-employee threshold has been met.

For example, an employer owns 3 sandwich shops with 12 employees employed in each shop on August 1, 2025. This employer employs 36 employees. On August 1, 2025, the employer hires a new employee and must provide the mandatory employment information, even though there are fewer than 25 employees employed at each individual shop.

Related employers

In certain circumstances, 2 or more employers may be treated as 1 employer under the ESA.

If 2 or more employers are treated as 1 employer, then all employees employed in Ontario by these 2 or more employers are included in the count.

Employees to include in the count

Anyone who meets the definition of "employee" is counted, including:

  • homeworkers
  • probationary employees
  • some trainees
  • officers of a corporation who perform work or supply services for wages
  • employees on definite term or specific task contracts of any length
  • employees who are on lay-off, so long as the employment relationship has not been terminated and/or severed
  • employees who are on a leave of absence
  • employees who are on strike or who are locked-out
  • employees who are exempt from the application of all or part(s) of the ESA (although these employees may not be covered by the employment information provisions of the ESA, they are included in the count to determine whether the employer employs at least 25 employees)
  • assignment employees, where the employer is a temporary help agency

When the requirement does not apply

The requirement does not apply to an employer that employs fewer than 25 employees on the employee’s first day of work.

The requirement also does not apply with respect to assignment employees. Although assignment employees must be included in the count when determining whether a temporary help agency employer employs at least 25 employees, they are themselves not entitled to receive this information. Note, however, that a separate obligation exists in the ESA requiring temporary help agencies to provide certain information to assignment employees. See the Temporary help agencies chapter of this guide for more information.

Hours of work and overtime pay

An employer and an employee can agree (electronically or in writing) that the employee will work more than the daily or weekly limits on hours of work. For information on daily and weekly limits on hours of work, see the hours of work chapter of this guide.

These agreements are only valid if the employer gives the employee a copy of the most recent version of the Information for Employees About Hours of Work and Overtime Pay information sheet before the agreement is made. Additionally, the agreement must include a statement where the employee acknowledges they received the most recent version of the information sheet.

Download the information sheet:

Temporary help agency assignment employees

After a new employee is hired, temporary help agencies must give their employees the most recent version of the Employment Standards Rights for Temporary Help Agency Assignment Employees information sheet. It explains the rights of assignment employees of temporary help agencies under the ESA.

Download the information sheet:

Foreign nationals

As soon as a recruiter contacts or is contacted by a foreign national about employment, the recruiter must give the foreign national copies of the most recent:

If an employer of a foreign national did not use a recruiter in connection with the employment, the employer must provide these documents to the foreign national.

About the Employment Standards Act

If a recruiter contacts or is contacted by a foreign national about employment, the recruiter must give the foreign national a copy of the most recent version of the Your Rights as a Foreign National Under the ESA information sheet that gives a summary of rights for foreign nationals under the ESA.

Download the ESA information sheet:

About the Employment Protection for Foreign Nationals Act

If a recruiter contacts or is contacted by a foreign national about employment, the recruiter must give the foreign national a copy of the most recent version of the Your Rights Under the EPFNA information sheet that gives a summary of rights for foreign nationals under the EPFNA.

Download the EPFNA information sheet:

Mass termination

As of July 1, 2025, if an employer initiates a mass termination under the ESA of 50 or more employees at its establishment within a 4-week period, on the first day of the notice period, the employer must provide all affected employees with a copy of the most recent version of the Employment Ontario Career Supports information sheet prepared and published by the ministry. The information describes provincial employment services available to the affected employees for skill training and job search support.

Download the information sheet: