Your rights at work in Ontario - minimum wage, hours, vacation and leave

From October 1, 2026, the general minimum wage in Ontario is $17.95 an hour (it was $17.60 from October 1, 2025). The student minimum wage, for students under 18 who work no more than 28 hours a week during the school year, or during school breaks and summer holidays, is $16.90. Ontario adjusts the rates every October 1.

• Most employees can be required to work up to 8 hours a day (or their regular workday if it is longer) and 48 hours a week. Working more needs your written or electronic agreement.
• You must get at least 11 consecutive hours off each day, and either 24 consecutive hours off every week or 48 consecutive hours off every two weeks.
• You cannot work more than 5 hours in a row without a 30-minute eating period, which is usually unpaid. Coffee breaks are not required by law.
• Mandatory training is working time and must be paid.

Most employees earn overtime after 44 hours in a work week, at 1.5 times the regular rate ("time and a half"). Overtime is calculated weekly, not daily, unless your contract says otherwise. You can agree in writing to take paid time off instead (1.5 hours off per overtime hour). Managers and supervisors and some other jobs are exempt or have different rules.

• Vacation time: at least two weeks a year for employees with less than five years with the employer, and three weeks after five years.
• Vacation pay: at least 4% of your gross wages (6% after five years). It builds up from your first hour of work, and any unpaid vacation pay must be paid out when you leave.
• You must be allowed to take your vacation within 10 months after the end of each vacation entitlement year.

Ontario has nine public holidays under the ESA: New Year's Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Most employees get the day off with public holiday pay, or premium pay plus a substitute day if they must work. The Civic Holiday in August, Easter Monday and Remembrance Day are not ESA public holidays, although many employers give them.

After two consecutive weeks with your employer, you can take up to three days of unpaid, job-protected sick leave each calendar year. Since October 28, 2024, your employer cannot require a doctor's note for this leave. Your contract may give you paid sick days. The ESA also provides job-protected leaves such as family responsibility, bereavement, pregnancy and parental leave; see the official guide for the conditions.

Employers with 25 or more employees must follow new rules for publicly advertised job postings made on or after January 1, 2026:

• the posting must state the expected pay or pay range (a range cannot be wider than $50,000 a year, unless the pay is above $200,000);
• it cannot require Canadian work experience, Canadian education credentials or a Canadian professional network in the posting or application form (professional licensing requirements are still allowed);
• it must say whether artificial intelligence is used to screen, assess or select applicants, and whether the posting is for an existing vacancy; and
• employers must tell candidates they interviewed whether a hiring decision has been made within 45 days of the last interview.

If you think your employer is not following the ESA, start by keeping records: your hours, pay statements and messages. The Employment Standards Information Centre answers questions Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 416-326-7160 or toll-free 1-800-531-5551. You can file a claim with the Ministry, which investigates and can order your employer to pay what you are owed. Your employer cannot punish you for asking about or exercising your ESA rights.