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Section 01

HR Policy & Compliance

What HR policies Ontario employers are required to have, what separates a compliant policy from one that just exists, and the questions owners ask before they write one.

Jurisdiction
Ontario
For
SMB owners & HR leads
Knowledge base
9 sourced notes
Updated
June 2026

HR policy and compliance is the gap between the rules you’ve written down and the rules Ontario actually holds you to. A small set of policies is mandatory; most of a handbook is good practice — and either way, a policy only protects you if it fits the law and you follow it.

Most Ontario employers we meet aren’t missing policies. They’ve inherited a template handbook, or written something years ago and never touched it. The trouble starts when a real situation tests it — a harassment complaint, a termination, an ESA claim — because that’s when a policy that doesn’t fit Ontario law, was never communicated, or was never actually followed turns from protection into evidence against you.

This page lays out what the law requires you to have, why having a policy isn’t the same as being compliant, and the questions employers ask before they draft. Statutory thresholds and deadlines change, so the figures below link out to the current rule on ontario.ca, and each point links down to the sourced note that backs it.

Ontario law

The policies you’re required to have

The written policies Ontario law makes mandatory — the floor, not the whole handbook. Thresholds and deadlines change, so each links out to the current rule on ontario.ca.

  1. Verified

    Harassment & violence

    Every Ontario employer must keep written workplace harassment and workplace violence policies, backed by programs that put them into action, and must review them at least once a year. Workers have to be trained on what the policies actually say.

    OHSA, ss. 32.0.1–32.0.5 Occupational Health and Safety Act (Ontario)

    OHSA violence & harassment policies ›

  2. Verified

    Disconnecting & monitoring

    Once you reach 25 or more employees on January 1, the ESA requires a written policy on disconnecting from work and a written policy on electronic monitoring — both in place by March 1 and given to every employee.

    ESA, 2000, ss. 21.1.1–21.1.2, 41.1.1 Employment Standards Act, 2000 (Ontario)

    ESA written-policy duties ›

  3. Verified

    Accessibility

    Under the AODA’s accessibility standards, every organization that provides goods, services or facilities to the public (or other third parties) and has at least one Ontario employee must keep written accessibility policies — “small” doesn’t mean exempt — and those with 50 or more employees must also document and post a multi-year accessibility plan.

    O. Reg. 191/11, ss. 1–5 Integrated Accessibility Standards / AODA (Ontario)

    AODA accessibility policies & plans ›

General information about Ontario law, not legal advice.

A policy you won’t follow is worse than no policy at all. Skip the steps in your own handbook and a court can hold you to them anyway — then refuse to let you rely on the very conduct you were disciplining.
Frank Newman

Practice, not paperwork

Why having a policy isn’t the same as being compliant

Most employers who get into trouble do have policies. The gap is rarely the document — it’s everything around it: whether it fits Ontario law, whether anyone was told, whether it matches the contract, whether it’s current, and whether you actually follow it. Each of these is a way a real policy still leaves you exposed.

  1. The template that doesn’t fit Ontario

    A handbook bought off the shelf, or borrowed from a parent company in another province, looks complete. But employment law is provincial, and you can’t contract out of Ontario’s Employment Standards Act — a clause built for somewhere else can quietly sit below the floor.

    No contracting out of the ESA ›

    Where it goes wrong A term that gives an employee less than the ESA minimum is simply void. The rest of the handbook doesn’t save it, and a court reads the minimum back in — so the clause you copied to look thorough is the one that fails.

  2. A policy nobody was ever shown

    An unread policy in a shared drive isn’t communication. The OHSA requires you to train workers on the harassment and violence policies, and a handbook only works as evidence when it’s paired with a signed acknowledgement that staff were told the rules.

    The OHSA’s training duty ›

    Where it goes wrong If you can’t show the employee knew the rule, you can’t fairly discipline them for breaking it — and a harassment program no one was trained on is a finding waiting to happen.

  3. A policy that contradicts the contract

    When the handbook says one thing and the employment agreement — or the ESA — says another, the conflict doesn’t stay hidden. It surfaces at the worst possible moment, usually in a termination.

    The ESA floor and conflicting terms ›

    Where it goes wrong You don’t get to pick which one applies. Only a term that gives the employee more than the minimum overrides it; a void clause can poison an otherwise valid termination provision and reopen what you thought was settled.

  4. A policy that never kept up with the law

    Policies age. Ontario added the disconnecting-from-work and electronic-monitoring policies; the OHSA wants the harassment and violence policies reviewed every year; the headcount that triggers the ESA policies resets every January 1. A reasonable review cadence is every two to three years, and immediately whenever the law changes.

    Maintaining your policies ›

    Where it goes wrong A policy that quotes a repealed rule, or misses a new obligation, is worse than silence — it’s documented proof you turned your mind to the duty and got it wrong.

  5. A rule you enforce when it suits you

    Applying a policy to one person and not another is the fastest way to lose its protection. The Ontario Human Rights Commission’s position is that similar problems should attract similar discipline — and whether the rule applies depends on who’s watching it being broken, which you don’t get to choose.

    Consistency and documentation that holds up ›

    Where it goes wrong Inconsistent enforcement reads as discrimination to a tribunal and as condonation to a court. Ignore your own progressive-discipline steps and you may not be able to rely on the misconduct at all.

What a full HR policy set covers — the handbook, end to end ›

Verified

The floor you can’t move

You can’t contract out of the Employment Standards Act. Any term that gives an employee less than the ESA minimum is void — only a term that gives more overrides it.

ESA, 2000, ss. 1–8 Employment Standards Act, 2000 (Ontario)

No contracting out of the ESA ›
Article Is your disengagement policy ready in time for Bill 27? Have your policies reviewed Book a policy review

A real decision

Template handbook, or a custom policy set?

A template gets you a document fast and cheap. Whether that’s enough comes down to how close it is to Ontario law and to how you actually run — because a court will hold you to whatever you wrote.

Start from a template

When it fits

  • You’re a straightforward, Ontario-only employer and need a baseline in place quickly.
  • You’ll treat it as a first draft — and edit every clause to Ontario law, not adopt it as-is.
  • Someone will check it against the ESA floor so no clause drops below the minimum.
  • You can realistically follow every step it commits you to.

Build a custom policy set

When it fits

  • You have remote or out-of-province staff, a union, or any real complexity.
  • You’re at or past the 25-employee line, so the ESA’s written policies are now mandatory.
  • Your real practice differs from the boilerplate — and you need policies you’ll actually apply.
  • You want the handbook to help you in a dispute, not be the thing held against you.

Either way the test is the same: a policy only protects you if it fits Ontario law and you follow it. What HR policy development covers ›

Before you draft

Questions employers ask

Which HR policies are legally required in Ontario?

A handful — and they don’t depend on your size the way employers assume. Every employer needs written workplace harassment and workplace violence policies under the OHSA. Once you hit 25 employees, the ESA adds written disconnecting-from-work and electronic-monitoring policies. Any organization that serves the public (or other third parties) and has at least one Ontario employee owes written accessibility policies under the AODA. Most of the rest of a handbook is good practice, not law.

The OHSA’s two mandatory policies ›

Is an employee handbook mandatory?

No — no Canadian law requires a handbook as such. What the law requires is several specific policies that usually live inside one. A handbook is still worth having: paired with a signed acknowledgement, it’s your evidence that staff were told the rules and the consequences of breaking them.

HR policy development & the handbook ›

What happens if we don’t follow our own policy?

It can be turned against you. Ontario courts have held that an employer who writes a progressive-discipline process into its handbook and then skips it can’t rely on the misconduct it was disciplining. A policy you apply inconsistently weakens your position rather than strengthening it.

Progressive discipline, and Gordon v. Altus ›

How often should we review our policies?

On two clocks. Set a regular cycle — every two to three years is the common cadence — and review immediately whenever the law changes. Some reviews are fixed by statute: the OHSA wants the harassment and violence policies looked at at least once a year, and the ESA headcount that triggers the disconnecting and monitoring policies resets every January 1.

Maintaining your policies ›

Do we have to do better than the ESA minimums?

No — but you can’t do worse. The ESA is a floor you can’t contract below: any clause that gives an employee less than the minimum is void, while a term that gives more is fine. Going beyond the minimum is a retention and culture choice, not a legal duty — but matching the floor exactly is the lowest a policy is allowed to go.

The ESA floor and no contracting out ›

Can we just use a template handbook?

As a starting point, yes — as a finished product, carefully. Employment law is provincial, so a template built elsewhere can leave Ontario gaps, and a clause that drops below the ESA floor is void. The bigger risk is adopting commitments you won’t keep, because a court holds you to what you wrote. Use a template to draft faster, then make every clause fit Ontario law and how you actually run.

Template vs. custom, done right ›

The pyramid

Go deeper in the knowledge base

  1. What is HR policy development / an employee handbook, and what does it cover?

    Read the note ›

  2. Workplace Violence: Policies, Risk Assessment and Program

    Read the note ›

  3. Workplace Harassment: Program, Investigation and Training

    Read the note ›

  4. Written Policy on Disconnecting from Work (25+ Employees)

    Read the note ›

  5. Electronic Monitoring Policy (25+ Employees)

    Read the note ›

  6. Accessibility Policies, Multi-Year Plans, and Procurement

    Read the note ›

Get it reviewed

Not sure your policies would survive a closer look?

Most handbooks are fine until the day they’re tested — a termination, a complaint, an ESA claim — and then the gaps show. If you’ve inherited a template, haven’t reviewed in a few years, or just want to know what Ontario actually requires of you, let’s go through what you have and what’s missing.

Book a policy review Or call 519-362-8352