Ontario Job Posting Requirements 2026: What Employers Need to Know
If you're hiring in Ontario, your job posting may need more information than it used to.
As of January 1, 2026, Ontario introduced new requirements under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 for publicly advertised job postings.
Depending on the employer and position, job postings may now need to include:
expected compensation or a compensation range
disclosure if artificial intelligence is being used to screen, assess or select applicants
confirmation of whether an actual vacancy exists
Employers are also prohibited from including Canadian experience requirements in covered postings or associated application forms and have new obligations to follow up with candidates who are interviewed.
The rules don't apply to every employer or every job posting, so let's break down what Ontario employers actually need to know.
In This Guide
Who Do Ontario's Job Posting Requirements Apply To?
The new requirements generally apply to employers with 25 or more employees on the day the job posting is posted. Employers with fewer than 25 employees are exempt from these requirements.
And don't assume that means 25 full-time employees.
Ontario counts individual employees, not full-time equivalents.
That means a part-time or casual employee generally counts as one employee regardless of how many hours they work. Employees on leave, probationary employees, employees on layoff where the employment relationship continues and certain other workers who meet the ESA definition of employee also count.
For example:
20 full-time employees + 4 part-time employees = 24 employees
The new job posting requirements generally wouldn't apply.
20 full-time employees + 5 part-time employees = 25 employees
The requirements generally would apply.
For employers hovering around that threshold, don't rely on your FTE count. Look at the actual number of employees on the date the posting goes live.
What Counts as a Publicly Advertised Job Posting?
The rules apply to publicly advertised job postings, which Ontario defines as external job postings advertising a specific position to the general public.
That can include postings advertised directly by the employer or by someone acting on the employer's behalf.
The definition excludes certain situations, including:
a general recruitment campaign that doesn't advertise a specific position
a general "help wanted" sign that doesn't advertise a specific position
postings restricted to existing employees
certain positions where the work will be performed outside Ontario.
So:
"We're always looking for great people. Join our team!"
may not be a publicly advertised job posting for these purposes if it doesn't advertise a specific position.
But:
"We're hiring an Accounting Manager in Toronto."
is much more clearly a posting for a specific position.
One detail employers should pay attention to: information in a website or document linked from the posting can be considered part of the posting.
That becomes important for both compliance and record keeping.
Do Ontario Job Postings Need to Include Salary?
For covered postings, employers must include information about the expected compensation or range of expected compensation for the position.
You don't necessarily have to publish a range. You can publish a specific expected compensation amount instead.
If you use a range, the difference between the bottom and top of the range generally cannot exceed the equivalent of $50,000 annually.
For example:
$80,000–$100,000
is within the permitted range.
$70,000–$140,000
would be too broad for a covered posting.
There is an important exception.
The compensation disclosure requirement does not apply where:
expected compensation is equivalent to more than $200,000 annually, or
the top of the expected compensation range is equivalent to more than $200,000 annually.
So a posting with an expected salary of $225,000 isn't required by this provision to disclose that amount.
What Does "Compensation" Include?
This is more nuanced than simply putting a base salary on the posting.
For these rules, compensation is tied to the ESA definition of wages.
It can include things such as:
salary
hourly wages
commission
piece-work rates
certain performance or production-related bonuses.
Some things aren't included, such as tips, travel expense reimbursements, stock options and certain discretionary bonuses unrelated to hours, production or efficiency.
If the compensation package includes more than one form of compensation, the employer needs to provide information about each applicable type.
For example, if you're hiring a salesperson who receives:
$65,000 salary + commission
simply posting "$65,000" may not adequately describe the expected compensation.
Ontario says an employer could provide information about how the commission is earned rather than publishing every detail of the commission plan.
This is one area where employers may want to review their job-posting templates rather than relying on recruiters or managers to decide what to disclose each time.
Do Employers Have to Disclose the Use of AI?
If an employer uses artificial intelligence to screen, assess or select applicants, the employer must include a statement in the publicly advertised job posting disclosing that AI is being used.
That's broader than simply asking whether your recruiter personally uses ChatGPT.
Employers should understand what their applicant tracking system, recruitment platform and other hiring technologies are actually doing.
Ontario's definition of artificial intelligence is broad and focuses on machine-based systems that infer from inputs to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations or decisions. Whether a particular hiring tool falls within the definition depends on how that system actually works and is used.
So before assuming:
"We don't use AI in hiring."
ask your ATS or recruitment technology provider.
You may be using AI-enabled screening or assessment functionality without thinking of it as an "AI hiring tool."
Can Ontario Employers Require Canadian Experience?
Covered employers cannot include requirements related to Canadian experience in a publicly advertised job posting or an associated application form.
That can include requirements relating to:
Canadian work experience
Canadian educational credentials
an established Canadian professional network or client base.
This doesn't mean employers can't require legitimate qualifications.
For example, professional licensing or registration requirements aren't prohibited simply because the profession is regulated in Ontario or Canada.
The distinction is important.
Instead of automatically asking for "three years of Canadian experience," focus on the actual experience, knowledge, credentials or capabilities required to perform the role.
Do Employers Have to Say Whether the Job Actually Exists?
Yes.
Covered publicly advertised job postings must include a statement saying whether the posting is for an existing vacancy.
Ontario describes an existing vacancy as a position that is imminently available for a qualified candidate to fill.
So employers should clearly state either that:
the posting is for an existing vacancy
or
there is no existing vacancy.
This doesn't mean an employer is legally required to ultimately fill the position simply because it advertised an existing vacancy.
But it does mean employers should think twice about continually advertising positions simply to build a candidate pipeline without clearly disclosing that there isn't currently a vacancy.
Do Ontario Employers Have to Follow Up With Candidates After an Interview?
For covered publicly advertised positions, yes.
If an employer interviews an applicant, the employer must tell the applicant whether a hiring decision has been made.
That information must generally be provided within 45 days after the interview, or within 45 days after the applicant's last interview if they were interviewed more than once.
The information can be provided:
in person
in writing
using technology.
Importantly, Ontario's definition of an "interview" for these rules doesn't include a preliminary screening conversation before applicants are selected for an actual interview.
And using an external recruiter doesn't make the obligation disappear.
A recruitment firm can provide the required information on the employer's behalf, but the employer remains responsible for ensuring the requirement is met.
That means employers using recruitment agencies should make it clear who is responsible for candidate communication and how it will be tracked.
Do Employers Need to Keep Copies of Job Postings?
Yes, and this is one of the easier requirements to overlook.
Employers must retain a copy of each covered publicly advertised job posting and associated application form for three years after the posting is removed from public access.
If the posting changes while it's live, employers must retain the different versions.
And remember those links we mentioned earlier?
If your posting links to another page or document containing information relevant to the job posting, that information can form part of the posting and may also need to be retained.
Employers must also retain records of the required information provided to interviewed applicants for three years after it was provided.
So this isn't just a recruitment-template change.
It's also a record-keeping change.
What If We Use Indeed, LinkedIn or a Recruitment Agency?
The employer is still responsible for compliance.
Ontario specifically notes that if an employer uses a third party to advertise a job or posts it on a third-party job website, the employer remains responsible for ensuring the requirements are followed.
That means you shouldn't assume:
"The platform will take care of it."
Your recruitment process should ensure that postings published through external platforms contain the required information.
The same principle applies when an external recruiter is managing the search.
They may handle the posting and candidate communications for you, but the employer remains responsible for meeting the ESA requirements.
What Should Ontario Employers Do Now?
If you employ 25 or more employees and recruit in Ontario, I'd review the entire hiring process rather than simply adding a salary range to your job ads.
Update your job posting template
Build the required elements into the standard template:
compensation information
vacancy statement
AI disclosure, where applicable
removal of Canadian experience requirements.
Review your compensation ranges
Don't wait until someone needs to post a job tomorrow to determine what the organization is prepared to pay.
The new rules are another good reason to establish clearer compensation ranges internally.
Audit your recruitment technology
Find out whether your ATS, assessment tools or recruitment platforms use AI to screen, assess or select candidates.
Review application forms
The Canadian-experience prohibition applies to associated application forms too, not just the visible job posting.
Build candidate follow-up into your process
Someone should own the 45-day requirement.
That could be HR, the hiring manager, your recruiter or an automated recruitment workflow, but it shouldn't depend on someone remembering.
Establish a record-retention process
Keep the posting, associated application forms, revisions and required applicant communications for the applicable three-year periods.
Review your external recruiter agreements
If an agency recruits on your behalf, make sure everyone understands who is responsible for posting compliance, candidate follow-up and records.
What About Small Employers With Fewer Than 25 Employees?
The new ESA job-posting requirements generally don't apply to employers with fewer than 25 employees.
That doesn't necessarily mean smaller employers should ignore the practices altogether.
Publishing a realistic compensation range, removing unnecessary Canadian-experience barriers and communicating with candidates after interviews can still be good recruitment practices even when they aren't required by these particular ESA provisions.
But it's important to distinguish good practice from a legal requirement.
For employers under the threshold, these specific job-posting obligations aren't mandatory under this part of the ESA.
The Bottom Line
Ontario's new job-posting requirements go well beyond salary transparency.
For covered employers with 25 or more employees, publicly advertised postings may now require:
✓ Expected compensation or a compliant compensation range
✓ Disclosure of AI used to screen, assess or select applicants
✓ A statement confirming whether an existing vacancy exists
Employers must also avoid Canadian-experience requirements, follow up with interviewed candidates about whether a hiring decision has been made and maintain required records.
If your recruitment process hasn't been reviewed since these rules came into effect on January 1, 2026, now is a good time to do it.
Want to Read the Official Requirements?
Ontario has published a detailed guide specifically addressing the new rules, including examples of compensation disclosure, employee-count rules, AI requirements, vacancy statements and record keeping.
Y
ou can also review the regulation itself:
Need Help With Hiring or HR Compliance?
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