Ontario new hire information sheet: the six items employers with 25+ staff must give before day one
Updated 2026-10-30. Rules current to October 23, 2026. A plain-language summary, not legal advice. EmployerReady is not affiliated with the Government of Ontario.
Ontario Regulation 285/01, s. 1.2 requires employers with 25 or more employees to give every new employee a short set of facts in writing before their first day of work. The rule has applied since July 1, 2025. The content is six items long; much of it may already be in your offer letter.
Who must give it
The requirement applies to an employer that employs 25 or more employees on the new employee’s first day of work. That is a different counting day from the January 1 count used for the disconnecting from work and electronic monitoring policies, and from the posting-day count used for job postings. If you hover around 25, the day that matters is the day each person starts.
It does not apply with respect to assignment employees of a temporary help agency, whether you are the agency or its client (s. 1.2(3)).
The six items
| Item | What the regulation says |
|---|---|
| 1. Employer names | The legal name of the employer, and any operating or business name if it is different. |
| 2. Contact information | The employer’s address and telephone number, and one or more contact names. |
| 3. Work location | A general description of where the employee is expected to perform work at first. |
| 4. Starting pay | The starting hourly or other wage rate, or commission, as applicable. |
| 5. Pay period and pay day | The pay period and pay day you have established under ESA s. 11(1). |
| 6. Hours | A general description of the employee’s initial anticipated hours of work. |
“General description” is the regulation’s own phrase for items 3 and 6. A sentence such as “our Sudbury warehouse, with occasional travel to the Timmins site” or “about 35 hours a week, Monday to Friday, day shifts” meets the wording. The information must be in writing, but no particular form is prescribed; an offer letter that contains all six items satisfies the text. A separate one-page sheet makes it easy to check that nothing is missing.
When
Before the employee’s first day of work. If that is not practicable, as soon after the first day as is reasonably possible. The regulation does not define “practicable”, so treat the first day as the deadline and the exception as the exception.
What a completed sheet looks like
One page is enough. Example wording, with the six items in the regulation’s order: “Employer: Northern Lights Bakery Ltd., operating as Northern Lights Café. Address and phone: 12 Main Street, Cochrane, Ontario, 705 000 0000. Contact: Dana Roy, owner. Work location: the Main Street café, with occasional shifts at the farmers’ market stall. Starting pay: $19.50 an hour. Pay period and pay day: bi-weekly, paid on the Friday after the period ends. Hours: about 30 hours a week, mostly weekday mornings; schedule posted a week ahead.” Date it, keep a copy, and give the employee theirs before they start. The regulation does not require a signature; asking the employee to sign a copy gives you a dated record that it was received.
The rest of the day-one paperwork
The information sheet is one of several things a new employee in Ontario receives in the first month. At every size, each employee gets a copy of the Ministry’s employment standards poster within 30 days of becoming an employee. If you had 25 or more employees on January 1, new hires also get your disconnecting from work and electronic monitoring policies within 30 days of starting. Under the accessibility standards, every organization with at least one Ontario employee that serves the public or other businesses trains new staff on the accessibility standards and the Human Rights Code as soon as practicable, and tells new employees about its accommodation policies. See AODA training requirements.
Sources
- O. Reg. 285/01, When Work Deemed to be Performed, Exemptions and Special Rules (s. 1.2, added by O. Reg. 477/24)
- O. Reg. 477/24 (the amending regulation)
- Employment Standards Act, 2000 (s. 2(7) poster within 30 days; s. 11(1) pay period and pay day)
- Your guide to the ESA: recent changes (ontario.ca)
Common questions
What information must an Ontario employer give a new hire in writing?
Six items under O. Reg. 285/01 s. 1.2: the employer’s legal and any operating name; address, phone number and a contact name; a general description of the initial work location; the starting wage rate or commission; the pay period and pay day; and a general description of the initial anticipated hours of work.
Which employers must give the new hire information sheet?
Employers with 25 or more employees on the new employee’s first day of work. It does not apply to assignment employees of a temporary help agency.
When does the new hire have to receive it?
Before their first day of work. If that is not practicable, as soon after the first day as is reasonably possible.
Can the information be in the offer letter instead of a separate sheet?
The regulation requires the information in writing and does not prescribe a form, so an offer letter that contains all six items meets the wording. A separate sheet makes it easier to confirm each item is present.