What an Ontario job posting has to include now
Writing a job ad used to be a marketing exercise. Since January 1, 2026 it is also a compliance document. Amendments to Ontario's Employment Standards Act, 2000, made by the Working for Workers Four and Five Acts and detailed in Ontario Regulation 476/24, now tell employers with 25 or more employees what a publicly advertised posting must say, what it must not say, and what they owe the people they interview. The posting must state the expected pay or a pay range of no more than $50,000, say whether the job is an existing vacancy, and disclose any use of artificial intelligence to screen, assess or select applicants. It must not ask for Canadian experience. And every interviewed applicant must hear, within 45 days, whether a hiring decision has been made.
Most templates online were written before these rules existed, and the pages that explain the rules are law-firm bulletins with no document to fill in. This kit puts the whole process in one Word file. It starts with a coverage check that walks through the employee count the way the Ministry counts it. The posting has each required statement built in as a choice of options, with the rule explained in a grey note at the point you fill it in. A pre-publication checklist maps every line to its section. After the interviews come four short notice letters and text versions, a 45-day tracker and the three-year records log the ESA now requires.
When to use it
Use it every time you advertise a specific position to the public: on Indeed, LinkedIn, Job Bank, your own careers page, social media, a newspaper or a sign in the window. Count your employees on the day the posting goes up. If you have 25 or more in Ontario, the rules apply to that posting, and it doesn't matter whether you post it yourself or a recruiter posts it for you. The rules apply to postings first published on or after January 1, 2026, and the 45-day notice applies to any interview held on or after that date, even for an older posting.
You don't need it for postings open only to current employees, for a "we're hiring" sign that names no position, or for jobs performed outside Ontario. Federally regulated employers, such as banks, airlines, railways and telecommunications companies, follow the Canada Labour Code instead of the ESA. If you edit a live posting, save the new version. If you repost it later, run the checklist again.
What's inside
The full list of sections and fields in this template, in the order they appear.
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Coverage check
- 25-employee count on the posting date
- Publicly advertised
- Specific position
- Open to external applicants
- Work performed in Ontario
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The job posting
- Job title
- Employer legal and operating name
- Location
- Employment type
- Hours
- Closing date
- About us
- Duties
- Qualifications without Canadian experience
- Compensation or range
- Existing vacancy statement
- Artificial intelligence statement
- Accommodation statement
- How to apply
- 45-day commitment
-
Pre-publication checklist
- Compensation and $50
- 000 range limit
- Vacancy statement
- AI statement
- Canadian experience
- Human Rights Code
- Accommodation
- Linked documents
- Recruiter instructions
- Approval
-
Notices to interviewed applicants
- Letter A not selected
- Letter B decision not yet made
- Letter C offer to follow
- Letter D position not filled
- Email and text versions
- Portal update wording
-
45-day notice tracker
- Applicant
- Interview dates
- Notice due date
- Date given
- Method
- Status
- Given by
- Copy saved
-
Records retention log
- Posting versions
- Linked documents
- Application forms
- Removal date
- Keep-until dates
- Notice copies
Preview pages
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Page 1 -
Page 2 -
Page 3
How to complete the posting and notices
- Count your employees. Count every individual employed in Ontario on the posting date, including part-time, casual and staff on leave, and record the number in Part 1.
- Write the duties and qualifications. Describe the skills needed without saying where they were gained, and keep only licences or registrations the law requires.
- Set the compensation. Enter a fixed amount or a range no wider than $50,000 a year, and add each other type of pay, such as commission or a performance bonus.
- Choose the vacancy statement. Use "existing vacancy" only if the job is imminently available. For a talent pipeline, use the "not an existing vacancy" option.
- Settle the AI statement. Ask your applicant tracking system vendor and any recruiter whether AI screens, assesses or selects applicants, then keep the matching option.
- Run the checklist. Check the posting, any linked job description and the application form, get sign-off, and save version 1 to the records log.
- Track interviews. Enter each interview in the tracker with its 45-day deadline the same day it happens.
- Send the notices. Before each deadline, send Letter A, B, C or D, or the short version by email or text, and save a copy.
- Keep the records. Keep each posting version for three years after it comes down, and each notice for three years after you sent it.
Example: a completed posting and notice
A fictional Hamilton employer, Bayfront Dental Group, has 31 employees across three clinics, so its posting for a dental receptionist is covered even though no single clinic has 25 staff.
Dental Receptionist, Bayfront Dental Group Inc., Hamilton, Ontario (on-site, Locke Street clinic). Full-time, permanent. Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 40 hours a week. Compensation: $21.50 to $25.00 per hour (a yearly equivalent of about $44,700 to $52,000). This posting is for an existing vacancy. We use artificial intelligence to screen applicants for this position. What you bring: two years of front-desk experience in a health care or customer service setting; working knowledge of dental practice software; English required, French an asset.
Bayfront interviews five applicants on February 10 and holds a second interview with two of them on February 24, so the deadline for those two moves to April 10. It sends Letter A by email to the three first-round applicants on March 3, phones the unsuccessful finalist on March 9, records the call in the tracker the same day, and sends Letter C to the successful candidate with the written offer.
Ontario rules to know
These are the provisions this kit is built around, all in force since January 1, 2026.
- Coverage (ESA section 8.1 and O. Reg. 476/24). Employers with 25 or more employees on the day a publicly advertised posting is posted. "Publicly advertised job posting" excludes general recruitment campaigns and help-wanted signs with no specific position, postings restricted to existing employees, and work performed outside Ontario.
- Compensation (ESA section 8.2). Expected compensation or a range, capped at a $50,000 spread, with an exemption above $200,000 a year.
- Canadian experience (ESA section 8.3). No requirement for Canadian work experience in the posting or its application form; the Ministry's guide extends this to Canadian education credentials and an established network or client base, but not to licensing requirements.
- Artificial intelligence (ESA section 8.4). A statement disclosing AI used to screen, assess or select applicants, including by a third party.
- Existing vacancy (ESA section 8.5). A statement saying whether the posting is for an existing vacancy.
- Interviewed applicants (ESA section 8.6). Notice of whether a hiring decision has been made within 45 days after the last interview.
- Records (ESA section 15). Postings and application forms for three years after public access ends; notices for three years after they are given.
- Related rules. The Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (O. Reg. 191/11, section 22) requires notice of accommodation for applicants with disabilities, and section 23 of the Human Rights Code prohibits advertisements that classify applicants by a protected ground.
Mistakes to avoid
The common errors are ranges that are too wide ("$60,000 to $120,000, depending on experience"), "evergreen" postings that claim to be an existing vacancy, copying a job description from a head office outside Ontario that asks for "Canadian experience" or "North American education", and forgetting that the recruiter's ad and the linked job description count as your posting. After the interviews, the trap is the finalist who hears nothing for two months while the decision drags on. Letter B fixes that: it tells the applicant no decision has been made yet, which meets the rule. Send it before day 45.
Frequently asked questions
Do Ontario job postings have to include the salary in 2026?
Yes, if the employer has 25 or more employees on the day the posting goes up and the posting is publicly advertised. Section 8.2 of the ESA requires the expected compensation or a range, and a range may not span more than $50,000 a year. The rule does not apply where the expected pay, or the top of the range, is more than $200,000 a year.
What is the 45-day interview rule in Ontario?
An employer that interviews an applicant for a publicly advertised posting must tell that applicant whether a hiring decision has been made within 45 days after the interview, or after the last interview if there were several. The notice can be given in person, in writing, by phone, email or text, or by a portal update if the applicant gets the link. A preliminary screening call does not count as an interview.
Do we have to say we use AI if our applicant tracking system ranks candidates?
If the system is artificial intelligence as the regulation defines it, a machine-based system that infers from its input to generate outputs such as predictions, recommendations or decisions, and it is used to screen, assess or select applicants, the posting must disclose that. A one-line statement is enough. Ask your vendor whether ranking, matching or scoring features meet the definition, because whether a system is covered depends on the facts.
Do these rules apply to employers with fewer than 25 employees?
No. The posting requirements apply only if the employer employs 25 or more people on the day the posting is posted, counting every individual employee in Ontario, including part-time and casual staff, across all locations. Smaller employers can still use this template, and the AODA accommodation statement and Human Rights Code limits apply to them regardless of size.
Can a job posting say "Canadian experience required"?
No. Since January 1, 2026, section 8.3 of the ESA prohibits Canadian experience requirements in a covered posting or its application form, including Canadian work experience, Canadian education credentials, and a requirement for an established professional network or client base. Professional licensing and registration requirements are still allowed.
Do internal job postings have to follow these rules?
No. A posting restricted to people who already work for the employer is not a publicly advertised job posting. The same goes for a general "we're hiring" sign or campaign that does not advertise a specific position, and for jobs performed outside Ontario.
