This page is a convenient source of information about key sections of the Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, 2022 (DPWRA). It is for your information and assistance only. This page should not be used as or considered legal advice. It is not intended to replace the DPWRA or regulations and reference should always be made to the official version of the legislation. You may have greater rights under a contract, collective agreement, the common law or other legislation. Operators and workers may wish to obtain legal advice.

Overview

On July 1, 2025, the Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, 2022 (DPWRA) came into force. The DPWRA sets out certain rights and protections for workers who perform digital platform work, regardless of whether they are employees or independent contractors.

The information on this page is for:

  • someone who performs digital platform work (in other words, provides ride share, delivery or courier services for payment and are offered work assignments through an online digital platform)
  • operators of digital platforms (in other words, those who facilitate the performance of digital platform work through a digital platform), or a person acting on their behalf 
     

Terms

Digital platform means an online platform that allows workers to choose to accept or decline digital platform work.

Digital platform work means ride share, delivery or courier services performed by a worker for payment who is offered work assignments by an operator through an online digital platform, such as an app or website. Digital platform work excludes taxicab or limousine services.

A digital platform worker is someone who performs digital platform work and includes a person who was a worker.

A digital platform operator is someone who facilitates the performance of digital platform work through an online digital platform.

A work assignment is a period during which a worker performs digital platform work. See “Work assignments” below for information about what is included in a work assignment and when a work assignment starts and ends.

Digital platform worker rights

If you are a digital platform worker in Ontario, you have rights under the DPWRA. The following rights apply to all digital platform workers who provide ride share, delivery or courier services under the DPWRA, regardless of the workers’ employment status.

Right to information

When you get access to a digital platform

You have the right to receive certain information, in writing, within 24 hours of getting access to a digital platform, such as:

  • what factors an operator considers when deciding if work assignments are offered to you and how those factors are applied
  • if an operator collects tips and if so, how and when they collect tips
  • how your pay is calculated
  • your regular pay period and pay day
  • if the operator uses a performance rating system and if so, whether there are consequences for your performance ratings or a failure to perform a work assignment and what those are
  • any factors, including evaluation methods internal or external to an operator, used by the operator to evaluate your performance and whether your evaluation will have consequences and what those are

Notice of changes

You have the right to be notified in advance, in writing, if there are changes to the information above (for example, if there is a change in how your pay is calculated or the rate of pay).

Being offered work, completing work or failing to complete work

You have the right to receive certain information, in writing, when being offered a work assignment, including:

  • your estimated pay for the work and a description of how it was calculated
  • any factors used in determining to offer the work assignment to you
  • whether there will be consequences based on your performance rating for that assignment or failure to perform it and, if so, a description of those consequences

You have the right to be given certain information, in writing, within 24 hours of completing a work assignment, including:

  • the actual amount you will be paid for the work
  • the amount of tips collected by the operator for the work assignment and the amount of tips you will be paid
  • if there are multiple work assignments that were performed at the same time and deemed to be one work assignment under the work assignment rules, the amount of tips collected for each original work assignment and the amount of tips that will be paid to you for each original work assignment
  • how your pay was calculated, including calculations of any travel distances or mileage used in calculating your pay
  • when you will be paid
  • a description of any amounts that will be paid to you for expenses
  • if your pay for the work assignment includes a premium for working at a specified time or performing a specified task, the amount of premium pay and how that amount was calculated
  • the start and end times of the work assignment

You have the right to a written description of any consequences before they occur, if you agreed to perform a work assignment but failed to complete it.

Performance ratings

You have the right to receive information about your performance ratings within 24 hours of the end of the last day included in the calculation of the average performance rating, as follows:

  • if you receive five or more ratings on a given calendar day, the operator must provide the average daily rating and if additional details are collected about the worker’s performance, a summary of those details
  • if you receive fewer than five ratings on a given calendar day, but a total of five or more ratings over two or more days including that day, the operator must provide the average of all ratings and if additional details are collected about the worker’s performance, a summary of those details

You also have the right to receive a description of any consequences based on these performance ratings.

Recurring pay period and pay day

You have the right to:

  • a regular pay period and pay day
  • be paid all amounts earned, including tips collected in each pay period no later than the worker’s regular pay day for the pay period

Minimum wage

You have the right to be paid at least the general minimum wage set out in the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and compliance with this requirement can be determined for each work assignment performed or on a pay period basis. This does not include any tips or other gratuities earned as well as other specified amounts that are excluded from the calculation of minimum wage.

If the operator determines compliance with minimum wage on a pay period basis, and the operator pays you an amount in addition to the amount you were earlier informed you would be paid for your work (i.e. pays you a “top-up” to be sure that you are paid minimum wage for the pay period), you have the right to be informed of that additional amount, in writing, on or before the pay day for the pay period.

Amounts earned and tips or other gratuities

An operator cannot withhold, make a deduction from, or ask you to return your tips or amounts earned, unless the operator is required to do so by a statute of Ontario or Canada or a court order.

Notice of removal from the platform

You cannot be removed from the digital platform unless you are given:

  • a written explanation of why the access to the digital platform was removed
  • two weeks’ written notice of any removal lasting 24 hours or more, unless you are guilty of wilful misconduct, you are removed because of public safety concerns, the removal is required by law, or you cannot otherwise legally perform digital platform work

Dispute resolution rights

You have the right to resolve all digital platform work-related disputes with the operator in Ontario, and not in another jurisdiction.

Reprisal rights

You have the right to be protected from reprisal if you, among other things, ask any person to comply with the DPWRA or exercise your worker rights under DPWRA.

Operators may not intimidate, penalize or attempt or threaten to intimidate or penalize you in any way for:

  • asking any person to comply with the DPWRA
  • asking questions about rights under the DPWRA
  • filing a complaint under the DPWRA
  • exercising or trying to exercise a right under the DPWRA
  • giving information to a compliance officer
  • participating in a proceeding under the DPWRA
  • being subject to a garnishment order (in other words, a court order to have a certain amount deducted from wages to satisfy a debt)

Greater right or benefit

The DPWRA provides minimum rights only. Some workers may have greater rights under:

  • a contract
  • a collective agreement
  • the common law
  • other legislation

If a provision in a contract or another act gives the worker a greater benefit than a worker right under the DPWRA, then that provision applies to the worker instead of the worker right.

If you think you have rights under both the DPWRA and the ESA, and you have a concern about your work, you can file both a DPWRA claim and an ESA claim. See “filing a claim” below. Note that, if you want to file claims under both the DPWRA and the ESA, you will be prompted to submit two separate claim forms.

Filing a claim

Online claim

You can file a claim online for any issues relating to the DPWRA.

PDF claim form

You can also file a DPWRA claim using the PDF claim form.

Submit your claim by either:

Provincial Claims Centre
Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development
70 Foster Drive, Suite 410
Roberta Bondar Place
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
P6A 6V4

Time limits for filing a DPWRA claim

There are time limits that apply to filing a DPWRA claim.

The date of the alleged DPWRA violation must fall on or after July 1, 2025, the date the DPWRA came into force. Generally, you must file a claim within two years of the alleged DPWRA violation. This two-year time limit is referred to as the “limitation period.” If you file a claim outside the two-year limit:

  • your complaint will be deemed not to have been filed
  • a compliance officer will not investigate the claim

Similarly, if your operator owes you amounts you have earned or tips/gratuities, these amounts must have been owed to you in the two years before your claim was filed to be recoverable under the DPWRA. This two-year period is referred to as the “recovery period.”

Operator obligations

The DPWRA requires operators to:

  • provide certain information to workers, in writing, within 24 hours of a worker being given access to a digital platform
  • provide certain information, in writing, about work assignments when they are being offered to a worker, and after a work assignment has been completed
  • provide a written description of any consequences before they take effect if the worker agreed to perform a work assignment but failed to complete it
  • provide certain information about performance ratings, whether they will have any consequences for the worker and a description of the consequences
  • establish a regular pay period and pay day, and pay all amounts earned no later than the regular pay day for that pay period, including any tips or gratuities collected
  • pay at least the general minimum wage set out in the ESA, which must be determined for each work assignment or on a pay period basis
  • if an amount in addition to amounts paid for work assignments is paid to a worker to ensure that minimum wage has been paid over a pay period, the worker must be informed of the additional amount in writing, on or before the regular pay day for the pay period
  • provide a written explanation if a worker’s access to the platform is removed
  • provide two weeks’ written notice of any removal lasting 24 hours or more, unless the worker is guilty of wilful misconduct, the worker is removed because of public safety concerns, the removal is required by law, or the worker cannot otherwise legally perform digital platform work
  • make and retain certain records relating to digital platform workers

The DPWRA prohibits operators from the following:

  • Withholding, making deductions or asking a worker to return amounts earned or tips/gratuities, unless required to do so by a statute of Ontario or Canada or a court order.
  • Contracting out of or waiving a worker right. Any such contracting out or waiver would be void. However, if a provision in a contract or another act gives the worker a greater benefit than a worker right under the DPWRA, then that provision applies to the worker instead of the worker right.
  • Intimidating or penalizing a worker, or attempting or threatening to do so, for taking action under the DPWRA (for example, asking questions about a right or exercising a right under the DPWRA). This prohibition also applies to anyone acting on an operator’s behalf.

The DPWRA also requires that all digital platform work-related disputes between operators and workers be resolved in Ontario.

Record keeping

Operators must record the following information for each worker who accesses the operator’s digital platform for the purpose of accepting or declining digital platform work:

  • the worker’s name and address
  • amounts paid to the worker for each work assignment and a description of each payment, including tips/gratuities or other amounts included in the payment
  • dates when:
    • access to the digital platform was given
    • each work assignment was performed, including the times that each work assignment started and finished
    • the worker’s access to the digital platform was removed or reinstated
    • the worker was paid
  • the information that is required to be provided to the worker under the DPWRA
  • the information provided to the worker about amounts paid in order to comply with the requirement to pay minimum wage on a pay period basis
  • any written explanation or written notice provided to the worker in cases where the worker’s access to the digital platform is removed

Worker records can be kept either by operators or by someone else on their behalf, but must be available for inspection as required by a compliance officer. These records must be kept for three years after the worker’s access to the digital platform is terminated.

Minimum wage

See previous section for information on compliance with minimum wage for digital platform workers, by pay period or by work assignment. Please see below for more information about work assignments, and when they begin and end.

Work assignments

A work assignment is a period during which a worker performs digital platform work. Generally, a work assignment includes any time a worker spends travelling after the work assignment starts and before the work assignment ends but does not include time spent travelling before it starts or after it ends.

The DPWRA specifies when a work assignment starts and ends, as follows:

  • A work assignment starts when a worker accepts the work assignment through a digital platform, unless:
    • a worker is already performing a work assignment and accepts another work assignment through the same digital platform that is to be performed immediately after the first work assignment. In this case, the second work assignment starts when the first work assignment ends.
    • a worker accepts a work assignment that is to be performed at a specified time in the future. In this case, the work assignment starts when the worker begins travelling to the location of the work assignment.
    • a worker accepts a work assignment but, without reasonable cause, does not make any delivery or passenger drop-off specified in the offer. In this case, the work assignment is deemed to have never started.
  • A work assignment ends when all work included in the work assignment is performed, unless:
    • a worker does not perform all work included in a work assignment because the operator or a person, other than the worker, who uses the digital platform cancels the assignment. In this case, the work assignment ends when the work assignment is cancelled through the digital platform. However, if as a result of the non-performance, the operator requires the worker to return an item for delivery to a location specified by the operator, the period of the work assignment includes the time spent travelling to return the item and returning the item, but does not include any other time after the cancellation, and the work assignment ends when the item is returned.
    • a worker, with reasonable cause, does not perform all work included in a work assignment. In this case, the work assignment ends when the worker last performs work included in the work assignment. However, if as a result of the non-performance, the operator requires the worker to return an item for delivery to a location specified by the operator, the period of the work assignment includes the time spent travelling to return the item and returning the item, but does not include any other time after the circumstance that caused the worker to not perform all of the work included in the assignment, and the work assignment ends when the item is returned.
    • a worker, without reasonable cause, does not make all deliveries or passenger drop-offs included in a work assignment. In this case, the work assignment ends when the worker last makes a delivery or drop-off included in the work assignment.
  • If a worker accepts more than one work assignment through the same digital platform and some or all of the work included in the assignments is performed at the same time, the assignments are deemed to be one work assignment.

Investigating complaints

When a claim is investigated by a ministry compliance officer, the officer will make a decision based on the best available evidence, which may include:

  • operator records
  • worker records
  • conducting interviews

Operators who violate the DPWRA can be:

  • ordered to comply with the DPWRA
  • ordered to pay amounts owing to a worker
  • ordered to pay a penalty
  • prosecuted

Settlement

A worker and operator can enter into a settlement to resolve their dispute. A settlement is an agreement that will resolve the claim. The DPWRA allows this option in certain circumstances after a claim has been filed.

If the worker and operator do what they agreed to under the settlement, the claim is considered to be withdrawn and the investigation comes to an end.

If a settlement is made, the worker and the operator must inform the ministry in writing of the terms of the settlement. You can use the Notification of Section 42 Settlement Form and Section 42 Terms of Settlement Forms to inform the ministry of a settlement. Both documents can be sent either:

By mail:

Provincial Claims Centre
Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development
70 Foster Drive, Suite 410, Roberta Bondar Place
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
P6A 6V4

By fax:1-888-252-4684
By email: DPWRA.documents@ontario.ca

Payments

Payments must be made payable to the "Director of Digital Platform Work in trust" within 30 days of service of the order. Payment must be made by credit card, cheque or bank draft.

If an operator wants to file an appeal with the Ontario Labour Relations Board of an order issued under DPWRA, in addition to other filing requirements, the amount of the order must be paid into trust by credit card, cheque, bank draft or by letter of credit. It is strongly recommended that the approved template for letters of credit is used.

Forward payments by mail, courier or hand delivery to:

Director of Digital Platform Work
Employment Practices Branch
Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development
400 University Avenue
9th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 1T7

When we receive payment, we will:

  • issue a proof of payment to the operator
  • hold the payment in trust

If no appeal is filed by either the operator or the worker, the amount will be paid out to the worker.

Letters of credit

A letter of credit is a formal written promise made by a financial institution (usually a bank) to pay money to a third party.

An operator can request a letter of credit from their financial institution to pay (in full or part) the Director of Digital Platform Work if the operator:

  • has a monetary order issued against them
  • wishes to file an appeal
  • must pay the amount of the order into trust

We strongly encourage you to use this approved letter of credit template when you make a request.

The Director will usually find a letter of credit acceptable if it:

  • is irrevocable, so it cannot be recalled or repealed
  • will be automatically renewed when it expires
  • is an original document issued by a bank or another financial institution with an office in Ontario
  • permits "partial drawings,” meaning the Director can demand and receive payment less than the entire amount mentioned in the letter of credit (this is in case the review of the order is partially successful, and the Board reduces the amount)
  • has no other conditions

If an operator wants the Director to consider a letter of credit as an acceptable form of payment, despite not meeting these criteria, they can provide to the Director in writing any additional details for consideration.

If you need assistance

Staff at the Employment Standards Information Centre are available to answer your questions about the DPWRA. Information is available in many languages.

You can reach the information centre from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. by calling: