Ontario Employee Information Disclosure: Coming Soon!

Beginning on July 1, 2025, new Ontario rules will require employers with 25 or more employees to provide each new employee with written information connected to their job.

These requirements, which are set out in the Ontario Employment Standards Act (ESA) only apply to permanent employees, with no requirements applicable to workers engaged as assignment employments through a temporary help agency.

Employers that fall under these new requirements will have to provide the following information to new employees:

·       the legal name of the employer, as well as any operating or business name if different from the legal name;

·       the 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;

·       the employee’s starting hourly or other wage rate, or commission, as applicable;

·       the pay period and pay day; and

·       a general description of the employee’s initial anticipated hours of work.

This information must be provided to a new employee before the employee’s first day of work. If that is not practicable, then the information must be provided as soon after that date as is reasonably possible. These new Ontario rules governing mandatory information disclosure to new employees can be readily integrated into workplace onboarding processes. The implementation of these rules across the province can also contribute to establishing clear communication between employees and their employers from the start of their employment relationship. 

Takeaway for Employers

 Employers will need to review their standard form of employment offer or contract, and check to ensure that relevant information is included. The ESA and its regulations do not mandate any specific kind of language for the disclosure as long as all the required information is provided to the employee. The following example of a disclosure under these new rules may be useful for employers trying to understand the rules. All the names and descriptions below were created for the sake of this illustration, and they do not refer to any real organization or location.

Sample Disclosure Wording

 Dear Alex,

 We have prepared this letter to help facilitate your onboarding into your new role with Alpha Group, operating as Beta Inc. You will be working from your new office located at Suite 2201, 33 Gamma Road, Athens, Ontario. Your role will require you to work from 9 AM to 5 PM every weekday; so about 8 hours a day for a total of 40 hours a week. We will notify you if your work location or expected hours of work change.

 Your starting hourly wage will be $30 per hour. You will also receive commission payments equivalent to 5% of any sales you make, subject to the terms of the attached commission policy. You will be paid every two weeks on the Friday following the end of every pay period. 

Please feel free to reach out to Phillip Agreed if you have any questions about your employment or the company. His phone number is: 777-777-7777, and his email is: agreed.phil@beta.com. If for any reason you need to address any correspondence to the company, please address it to Phil Agreed at our head office at 55 Delta Avenue, Athens, Ontario. 

We look forward to having you as part of our team.