On January 1, 2026, some of the most significant changes to Ontario’s hiring practices in years take effect. Unlike some legislative updates that feel abstract, these new job posting requirements will immediately impact how you post jobs and communicate with candidates.
Under the working for Workers Four and Five Acts, Ontario is introducing five new requirements for any publicly advertised job posting:
Pay Transparency: Every job posting must include expected compensation or a range. The range cannot exceed $50,000 (you can post $60,000 – $110,000, but not $60,000 – 120,000). Roles paying over $200,000 annually are exempt from this rule.
AI Disclosure: If you use artificial intelligence to screen or assess candidates, you must disclose this in the posting.
No Canadian Experience Requirements: You can no longer require “Canadian experience” in job postings or applications.
Vacancy Status: Your posting must state whether the posting is for an existing vacancy.
Post Interview Notification: Within 45 days of interviewing a candidate, you must notify them whether a hiring decision has been made. Additionally, you will also need to retain all job postings, applications, and notifications for three years.
Important: These requirements apply to employers with 25+ employees and don’t apply to internal postings or roles performed entirely outside Ontario.
Action Plan
January 1 – 18
- Pause any job postings that don’t include compensation ranges.
- Remove “Canadian experience” language from all active postings and application forms.
- Audit which recruitment tools use AI and whether disclosure is needed.
January 19 – 31
- Update all job posting templates with required disclosures.
- Set up a tracking system for the 45-day interview notification requirement (this can be done through calendar reminders or ATS automations).
- Implement record retention for postings and candidate communications.
- Brief hiring managers on what’s changed – especially compensation disclosure and notification timelines.
February – March
- Train hiring managers on the new requirements with practical examples
- Monitor how changes are working in practice (candidate response, manager questions, identify system gaps).
- Adjust templates and workflows based on real-world feedback.
- Review compensation structures to ensure posted ranges are defensible and competitive.
Why This Matters Beyond Ontario
Pay transparency and hiring fairness are becoming national trends. British Columbia requires larger employers to file pay transparency reports by November 1, 2026, and Saskatchewan is expanding leave entitlements as of January 1, 2026.
If your organization is growing or hiring remote employees, understanding these trends now will save you significant time and headaches later.
The Real Risk for Growing Organizations
The risk isn’t that organizations ignore the law, but that they either reuse outdated job postings, assume application tracking systems automatically handle compliance, or assume the hiring managers are aware of the required changes to remain compliant.
These compliance gaps often surface when an unsuccessful candidate complains, during a termination dispute, or when the organization is scaling quickly and realizes their process doesn’t work anymore.
The organizations that act quickly in Q1 will be far better positioned than those who wait until there’s a problem. Taking an informed and proactive approach now will save time, money, and stress later. At Brown Consulting Group, our goal is to help you to continue hiring in an effective and compliant manner throughout 2026. We will work with you to ensure your updated job posting templates are compliant, design practical workflows that work with your existing systems, provide language guidance and training for hiring managers, and design a robust hiring process that scales across provinces.
Reach out to us today and let us help you implement these changes practically and efficiently. Whether you need a quick compliance check or comprehensive support updating your hiring process, let’s talk about what makes sense for your organization.
