Hiring your first employee in Ontario: what you legally need in place

Your first hire is the point where a business stops being informal. Ontario's Employment Standards Act and Occupational Health and Safety Act apply from the first day of the first shift, and most of what they require has to exist before that shift, not after it.

Before you post the job

1. 1Confirm whether the role is genuinely an employee or a contractor. Misclassifying is one of the most expensive errors an owner can make, and calling someone a contractor in writing does not settle the question.
2. 2Open a payroll program account on your Business Number so you can remit CPP, EI and income tax.
3. 3Check your WSIB obligation and register if required.
4. 4Write the job description and the pay rate, including how overtime, public holidays and vacation pay will be calculated.

Documents to have ready on day one

• A written offer letter stating role, pay, hours, and any probationary terms.
• The Ministry of Labour's ESA poster provided to the employee, and the required workplace postings displayed.
• A written health and safety policy and program where required, plus workplace violence and harassment policies.
• Completed TD1 federal and Ontario forms, and the employee's SIN recorded securely.
• Emergency contact and banking details, stored under a privacy practice that matches what you promised.

Training that is not optional

Ontario requires basic occupational health and safety awareness training for every worker and supervisor, and WHMIS training where hazardous products are present. Record who was trained and when — if you cannot show the record, you effectively cannot show the training happened.

The first ninety days

1. 1Day 1: sign the paperwork, walk the safety orientation, hand over the policy set.
2. 2Week 1: confirm the first pay run calculates correctly, including statutory deductions.
3. 3Day 30: written check-in with expectations in writing.
4. 4Day 90: performance conversation, documented — before habits set.

Our Employee Onboarding SOP Pack is free in the starter kit and follows exactly this arc, with the Ontario requirement noted at each step. It is a template, not advice about your specific situation — for termination, accommodation or classification questions, get employment-law help.

Keep reading

• How to register a business in Ontario: the order that actually works
• HST for a new Ontario business: when to register, what to charge, what to set aside