Your rights at work in Ontario

Knowing your rights helps you spot problems early and speak up with confidence. In Ontario, the Employment Standards Act (ESA) sets the minimum rules for most workers: pay, hours, breaks, holidays, and more. Some workplaces, such as banks, airlines, and post offices, are federally regulated and follow different rules (Your guide to the ESA).

We checked these facts on October 11, 2026. Rules and rates change, so follow the links to the official pages for the latest details.

Minimum wage

Ontario updates its minimum wage every October 1. These rates took effect on October 1, 2026 (minimum wage):

Before that, from October 1, 2025, the general rate was $17.60.

The student rate is for students under 18 who work 28 hours a week or less while school is in session, or who work during a school break or summer holidays. There is no separate rate for servers.

Getting paid

From Payment of wages:

• Your employer must set a regular pay period and a regular pay day.
• On or before each pay day, you must get a wage statement. It shows the pay period, your wage rate, your gross pay and how it was calculated, each deduction and its purpose, and your net pay.
• Deductions are only allowed for things like taxes, court orders, or amounts you agreed to in writing.
• Your employer can't take money from your pay for faulty work, such as broken tools or spoiled work. For a cash shortage, a deduction is allowed only if you were the only person with access to the cash and you agreed in writing.

Tips. Your employer can't withhold your tips or make deductions from them, except in a few cases the law allows, such as tip pools. Tips don't count toward minimum wage (tips).

When you start a job. Your employer must give you a copy of the Employment Standards poster within 30 days. Since July 1, 2025, employers with 25 or more employees must also give you written information before your first day. This includes the employer's legal name and contact details, where you will work, your starting wage, your pay period and pay day, and your expected hours (mandatory information).

Training and trial shifts. Training required by your employer or by law counts as work time. Since March 21, 2024, if you work during a trial period, you are an employee and those hours count as work (hours of work).

The three-hour rule. If you usually work more than 3 hours a day, and you report to work but work less than 3 hours, you must generally be paid for at least 3 hours (minimum wage).

Hours, breaks, and rest

From Hours of work:

• Most employees can't be required to work more than 8 hours a day (or their regular workday, if longer) or 48 hours a week, unless they agree in writing or electronically.
• You can't work more than 5 hours in a row without a 30-minute eating period. It is unpaid, unless your contract says otherwise.
• You must get at least 11 hours in a row off each day.
• You get 8 hours off between shifts, unless your two shifts together add up to 13 hours or less, or you agree in writing to less.
• You must get 24 hours in a row off each week, or 48 hours in a row every two weeks.

Overtime

Most employees earn 1.5 times their regular rate for hours over 44 in a week (overtime pay). Overtime in Ontario is counted by the week, so a long day alone does not usually mean overtime pay. Managers and some other jobs have different rules.

Public holidays, vacation, and sick days

Public holidays. Ontario has 9 public holidays: New Year's Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day (public holidays).

• Most employees qualify, even if they were hired recently. You can lose holiday pay if you miss your last scheduled shift before the holiday, or your first one after it, without a reasonable cause.
• If you agree to work on the holiday, you get either your regular pay plus a substitute day off, or public holiday pay plus 1.5 times your regular rate for the hours you work.
• In some workplaces, such as restaurants, your employer can require you to work if the holiday falls on a day you would normally work.

Vacation. You earn vacation pay of at least 4% of your wages from your first day, rising to 6% after 5 years. After each 12 months of work, you get 2 weeks of vacation, and after 5 years, 3 weeks (vacation).

Sick days. After 2 weeks with your employer, you can take up to 3 unpaid, job-protected sick days each calendar year. Your employer can't require a doctor's note for these days, but may ask for other reasonable evidence (sick leave).

How old do you have to be?

Ontario sets minimum ages by type of workplace (minimum age for work):

• 14: offices, stores, arenas, and restaurant serving areas
• 15: factories, including restaurant kitchens, warehouses, produce and meat preparation in grocery stores, automotive service garages, and laundries
• 16: construction, logging, and some mining work
• 18: underground mines, window cleaning, and offshore oil or gas rigs

Employers can't employ children under 16 during school hours. Workers under 25 are called "young workers" under the ESA, and most have the same rights as other employees (young workers' rights).

Health and safety

You have the right to know about hazards at work, the right to participate in health and safety, and the right to refuse unsafe work (OHSA guide). All employers must make sure workers complete basic health and safety awareness training. The province offers free programs that meet this requirement (awareness training).

New rules for job postings

Since January 1, 2026, employers with 25 or more employees must follow new rules for publicly advertised job postings (job posting rules). Postings must:

• Include the expected pay or pay range
• Say whether the job is an existing vacancy
• Say whether the employer uses artificial intelligence (AI) to screen or select applicants
• Not require "Canadian experience"

If one of these employers interviews you, it must tell you within 45 days whether a hiring decision has been made.

Where to get help

1. Keep records. Write down the hours you work and save your wage statements.
2. Call the Employment Standards Information Centre at 1-800-531-5551 (toll-free) or 416-326-7160.
3. File a claim. You can file an employment standards claim online. Generally, you must file within two years (filing a claim).
4. Know you are protected. Your employer can't punish you, fire you, cut your pay, or threaten you for asking about your ESA rights or filing a complaint (reprisals).

Next steps

• Working in BC? Read Your rights at work in BC
• Spot fake jobs: Job scams that target first-time job seekers
• Find entry-level jobs in the Greater Toronto Area