Key requirements for publicly advertised roles and pre start information

In Ontario, there have been numerous significant changes in the Employment Standards Act, under its amending statutes, namely the Working for Workers Acts 4-7. As these changes affect both employees and employers, it is important to stay up to date with the latest major legislative changes. Here’s a quick guide to the most impactful changes made by the Ontario Provincial Government beginning in 2026.

1. Changes to Publicly Advertised Job Postings

For publicly advertised job postings, defined as “employers with at least 25 employees on the day of posting,” that have posted an “external job posting that an employer or a person acting on behalf of an employer advertises to the public in any manner” must now comply with the following requirements:

1. The job posting must disclose whether it is for an existing vacancy that the employer has. The purpose for this change is to help applicants have a better understanding of the position they are applying for. 
2. The job posting must disclose whether AI is used in any step of the screening, assessment or filtering stages of the hiring process. 
3. Compensation must be disclosed. There is some flexibility for employers on how this disclosure requirement can be satisfied. The posting can include either the compensation expected, or alternatively, a range of compensation figures, provided the range given does not exceed $50,000 for a yearly salary compensation figure. There are some exceptions to this clause. First, if the expected compensation for a job posting is equivalent to more than $200,000 per year, this requirement is waived. Alternatively, if the expected range of compensation ends at an amount equivalent to over $200,000 per year, this requirement does not apply. 
4. Employers must notify all applicants to a job posting as to whether a hiring decision has been made. This can be done via several methods, including via technology (phone call, email, text, etc.), in-person, or other methods. Any method is satisfactory, but there must be at least one method of notice used. This was done to reduce employer “ghosting” of applicants.
5. Requirements for Canadian experience in job postings is no longer allowed in any shape or form. The purpose behind this change is to reduce barriers for international professionals so they can work in Ontario.
6. There are several retention requirements for Employers. This includes retaining interview information for three years after a hiring decision has been made regarding an applicant. Additionally, all publicly advertised job postings any associated documents to the job posting must be retained for three years from when the job posting was last made accessible to the public. 

Employee-side Legislative Changes

There have been several employee-centric changes to the Employment Standards Act in late 2025, including changes to what information new hires are given prior to starting their employment. The employer must now provide either the Employer’s name, or business name if it is not the Employer’s name. They must also provide contact information for the Employer. There must also be an address where the employee is supposed to work. As well, the employee must be informed of their starting wage, their pay period, and pay day, as well as what the employee’s expected hours of work are to be. 

Employment Law, ESA, IT Jobs, itjobs, jobs, Uncategorised

Tags: 2026, Employment Law, ESA, Ontario