HR teams with Ontario employees should be preparing for yet another round of amendments to Ontario HR laws – coming this year.
Most recently, Ontario introduced Bill 30, Working for Workers Seven Act, 2025, which is making its way through the legislature and is expected to pass in fall 2025. But that’s not all – additional amendments from past bills are coming into force this year.
With all of these changes on the horizon, what Ontario HR law amendments should be top of mind for HR teams?
Hiring
Advertising for New Employees
Major changes are coming to Ontario HR laws governing public job advertisements. Effective January 1, 2026, employers with 25+ employees must meet the following requirements when advertising for new hires:
- Disclose:
- expected compensation or a range of expected compensation for positions that pay less than $200,000 per year
- any use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the screening, assessment, or selection of applicants
- whether the posting is for an existing vacancy
- Not require Canadian experience
- Provide interviewees with a status update regarding hiring decisions
For more information, see our earlier post – Ontario Job Postings – New Requirements Come into Force Jan. 1, 2026
Communicating with New Employees
Effective July 1, 2025, employers with 25+ employees must provide written information to all new employees. This includes:
- legal name of employer
- contact information
- general description of where the employee will initially work and anticipated hours of work
- starting wages or commission
- pay period and pay day
Minimum Wage
As of October 1, 2025, the general minimum wage in Ontario will increase to $17.60 per hour. The student minimum wage (for students under 18 years of age) will increase to $16.60 per hour.
New Leaves of Absence
Ontario employers should prepare for 3 new leaves of absence.
- Long-term Sick Leave:
- 27 weeks of unpaid leave
- employees who have a serious medical condition (includes chronic or episodic conditions)
- in force on June 19, 2025
- Child Placement Leave:
- 16 weeks of unpaid leave
- employees who have adopted a child or had a child through a surrogacy
- to be proclaimed in force
- Job Seeking Leave:
- 3 days of unpaid leave
- employees who have been provided with notice of group termination (i.e., 50 or more employees receive notice of termination) will be entitled to leave to seek employment (e.g., job searches, interviews and training)
- job seeking leave is included in Bill 30, and will come into force as soon as the Bill is passed by the government
Terminations and Lay-offs
Currently, Ontario HR laws permit lay-offs of up to 35 weeks in a 52-week period. Bill 30 includes amendments which would permit extended lay-offs of 35 or more weeks in any period of 52 consecutive weeks, but not 52 or more weeks in any period of 78 consecutive weeks, subject to:
- the employer and employee agreeing to the extended lay-off
- the Director approving the extended lay-off
- the employer specifying (in writing)
- the latest date of recall
- once the agreement is made, the employee cannot withdraw from it
This change to lay-offs is also included in Bill 30, and will come into force as soon as Bill 30 is passed.
Other Amendments
In addition to the above changes, employers should keep in mind some upcoming changes to Ontario’s health and safety legislation, including:
- requiring employers to ensure washroom hygiene and maintain cleaning records – in force July 1, 2025
- requiring construction projects that are expected to last 3 or more months and have 20+ workers to have automatic external defibrillators – in Bill 30
- authorizing health and safety inspectors to impose administrative penalties for contraventions of or failures to comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act – in Bill 30
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