Are You Compliant?: July 1st Employee Onboarding Changes

If your organization has 25 or more employees, a key legislative change is coming your way.

Effective July 1, 2025, Ontario employers will be legally required to provide new hires with written job details before their first day of work. While many organizations already outline basic terms in offer letters, this new requirement formalizes and expands what must be included - and puts it into law.

What Needs to Be Provided in Writing?

The written notice must include:

✔ The employer’s legal and operating name, as well as contact information

✔ The employee’s anticipated work location

✔ The employee’s starting wage

✔ The pay schedule (e.g., weekly, biweekly, monthly) and payday

✔ The expected hours of work

This requirement is part of Ontario’s continued efforts to increase transparency and improve working conditions across the province.

What This Means for Employers

If you’re already providing formal offer letters and onboarding documents - great! But now’s the time to review, refresh, and align those materials with the new legislative requirements. Even small omissions (like excluding the work location or pay schedule) could lead to non-compliance come July 2025.

You’ll also want to make sure your onboarding process is consistent across departments, especially if multiple managers or locations are involved in hiring.

How We Can Help

At Orion HR, we help small and mid-sized businesses across Ontario stay compliant with evolving employment legislation. From offer letter templates to onboarding checklists, we ensure your hiring practices are both legally sound and employee-friendly.

Need help updating your onboarding materials? Let’s connect - we’ll help you get ready for these upcoming changes.