An Ontario employer of roughly 20 to 200 staff carries about a dozen recurring statutory obligations across three authorities: the federal government through the CRA (payroll filing, remittances, CPP and EI), the province through ontario.ca (minimum wage, the Employer Health Tax, ESA policies, OHSA duties, AODA, Pay Equity), and the WSIB (premium reporting and reconciliation). This guide maps those obligations by when they recur. It does not state the live deadline or the current dollar figure for any of them — each one links down to a note that states the durable rule, and from there to the government page that holds the current value. Confirm every exact date and dollar amount at the named source before you act on it.

The pattern matters more than any single date. Most of these obligations repeat on a fixed cadence — a filing month, a reset date, a meeting interval — and the cadence does not change even when the figure or the calendar day does. Build your year around the pattern; look up the live number when you need it.

The late-winter cluster

The heaviest run of deadlines falls between the turn of the year and the end of March.

ESA policy gate — early in the year. If you employed 25 or more people on January 1, you must have a written policy on disconnecting from work and a written policy on electronic monitoring in place before March 1 of that year. The count is a point-in-time headcount on January 1, so that date decides whether the rule applies to you for the year. See Written Policy on Disconnecting from Work (25+ Employees) and Electronic Monitoring Policy (25+ Employees).
T4 / T4A filing — end of February. Prepare and distribute slips and file the T4 information return with the CRA. The return is annual and due the last day of February following the calendar year; that day can shift to the next business day. See Filing T4 and T4A slips.
Employer Health Tax return — mid-March. File the annual EHT return for the prior calendar year. The return is annual; some larger payrolls also owe monthly instalments. See The Employer Health Tax annual return and exemption.
WSIB reconciliation — end of March. Employers who report and pay WSIB premiums monthly reconcile the year’s reported premiums against the actual amount owing. This is annual and applies to monthly reporters; not every employer reconciles. See WSIB premium reporting and reconciliation.

Confirm each of these exact dates at the relevant government page for the current year — the last day of February in particular can land on different calendar days.

The January 1 rate resets

Several payroll figures reset on January 1 and need to be loaded into your payroll before the first run of the year.

CPP and CPP2 contribution rates, maximums and exemption reset every January 1 and are announced the prior autumn. See CPP and CPP2 contribution rates.
EI premium rate and maximum insurable earnings reset every January 1. The rate is reviewed annually and can move down as well as up. See EI premium rates.
WSIB maximum insurable earnings — the per-worker ceiling — resets every January 1, indexed to Ontario average earnings. See WSIB maximum insurable earnings.

Each of these values changes at the next reset. Pull the current figures from the government page named in the linked note rather than reusing last year’s.

The October 1 minimum-wage reset

Ontario’s general minimum wage rises every October 1, indexed to the Ontario Consumer Price Index. The province must publish the confirmed new rates by April 1 of the same year, which gives you roughly a six-month runway to update payroll before the October 1 effective date. The rule itself, including the three-hour reporting-pay obligation, sits in Minimum Wage and the Three-Hour Rule; the current and next stamped rates sit in Current minimum wage rates. Confirm the live figure at the ontario.ca minimum-wage page each year.

Ongoing and event-driven duties

Some obligations do not sit on one calendar day; they run continuously or trigger on an event.

Source-deduction remittances. You remit withheld CPP, EI and income tax on the schedule set by your CRA remitter type, which the CRA assigns and reviews annually. Most small employers remit monthly. Confirm your own type in CRA My Business Account rather than assuming. See Source-deduction remittances.
New-hire written information. Employers with 25 or more employees must give specified written job information to each new hire before the first day, or promptly afterward. This is per new hire, not a calendar item. See Telling New Hires the Basics: Written Employment Information.
Pay transparency in job postings. Rules on pay-range disclosure, AI-screening disclosure and related posting requirements took effect January 1, 2026 under the ESA. These run per posting, with a multi-year record-retention obligation, not as an annual filing. The exact thresholds and how they sit alongside the older salary-range provisions are still settling; do not treat any single figure here as final. Read Job Postings: Salary Ranges, AI Disclosure and the Canadian-Experience Ban and confirm the current rules on the live ontario.ca ESA materials and the O. Reg. 476/24 page on e-Laws.
OHSA workplace violence and harassment policies. Review the violence and harassment policies as often as necessary and at least annually, and review the harassment program at least annually. See Workplace Violence: Policies, Risk Assessment and Program and Workplace Harassment: Program, Investigation and Training.
JHSC meetings and inspections. A joint health and safety committee must meet at least once every three months, a worker member must inspect the workplace at least monthly where practicable, and certified members complete refresher training within three years. See JHSCs and Health and Safety Representatives: Who You Need and What They Do.
First aid. Keep first-aid boxes inspected quarterly and first-aid certificates valid. See First aid under Regulation 1101.
Pay Equity maintenance. Pay equity is an ongoing maintenance duty, not a fixed annual filing for most Ontario private-sector employers; review the plan when the workplace changes. See Keeping a Pay Equity Plan Current When Things Change.

What your headcount turns on

Several obligations switch on at a headcount threshold. Because some of those counts are taken on a fixed date, recount your staff on January 1 each year and check what has newly attached.

10 or more employees: Pay Equity applies. For an employer in the 20-to-200 band, this always applies.
20 or more employees: you must file the AODA accessibility compliance report, and you must run a joint health and safety committee rather than a single health and safety representative.
25 or more employees on January 1: the ESA disconnecting-from-work and electronic-monitoring policy gates apply (in place by March 1), the new-hire written-information requirement applies, and the pay-transparency posting rules apply.
50 or more employees: the AODA multi-year accessibility plan and public-website WCAG obligations attach, and your JHSC must have at least four members.

An employer at the low end of the band — 20 to 24 staff — sits below the ESA 25-employee policy gates but above the AODA-report and JHSC thresholds, so the picture is genuinely mixed. Treat each threshold as conditional, not universal, and recount on January 1 because several gates are point-in-time January 1 counts.

What is NOT a recurring filing

Vendor compliance calendars routinely list items that are not recurring statutory obligations. Four to set straight:

The ESA poster is not re-distributed every year. You give each employee a copy within 30 days of hire; when a new version is published you do not have to re-issue it to existing staff, and since 2019 it need not be physically posted.
The disconnecting and electronic-monitoring policies are not re-issued annually. You create each policy once, when you first cross 25 employees on a January 1; after that you only re-distribute on a change to the policy or to a new hire, and the obligation lapses only if your headcount falls below 25 on a later January 1.
AODA reporting is every three years for business, not annual. Businesses and non-profits with 20 or more employees file the accessibility compliance report on a three-year cycle; only the public-sector cycle is shorter. See The AODA accessibility report and its 3-year cycle.
Not everyone reconciles with WSIB. Only monthly premium reporters — and any employer who closes an account mid-year — reconcile annually; annual and quarterly reporters do not file a separate reconciliation.

Where employers trip up

The recurring mistake is freezing a number. A figure copied into an internal calendar last year is a figure that has almost certainly moved — CPP, EI and the WSIB ceiling at the new year, minimum wage in October. The second mistake is missing a threshold crossing: a single hire over a January 1 count can attach the ESA policy gates and the pay-transparency rules for the whole year, and a move past 50 brings new AODA and JHSC duties. Recount on January 1, and re-check the live figure at the source before you rely on it.

This is general information, not legal advice; get advice on your own situation. Every exact date and dollar figure in the notes linked above must be confirmed at the named government source for the current year — these notes route you to that page on purpose and are not the authority on the live deadline or amount.

Source: Your guide to the Employment Standards Act (ontario.ca) · June 8, 2026

Last reviewed June 8, 2026.

Confidence: Verified

Related notes

T4 and T4A Slips: Preparing, Distributing, and Filing — Each year you prepare T4 (and T4A where they apply) slips, give copies to your employees, and file the information return with the CRA. The deadline is the last day of February following the calendar year, and you confirm the exact current-year date with the CRA.
CRA Source-Deduction (Payroll) Remittances — Employers remit withheld CPP/CPP2, EI, and income tax to the CRA on a schedule set by their remitter type, which the CRA assigns from the Average Monthly Withholding Amount and notifies by mail. Confirm your own type and due dates in CRA My Business Account.
CPP and CPP2 Contribution Rates, Maximums, and Exemption — The Canada Pension Plan contribution figures reset every January 1 and are announced the prior autumn; you update payroll for the new year's maximum pensionable earnings, basic exemption, contribution rate, the dollar maximums, and the separate CPP2 figures, almost every one of which goes stale the following January and must be re-verified at the CRA page.
EI Premium Rates and Maximums (Annual January 1 Reset) — Employment Insurance premium rates and the maximum insurable earnings reset every January 1. You update payroll for the new figures at the start of each year and confirm the current numbers on the CRA's EI page, because they change annually and can move in either direction.
Employer Health Tax: Annual Return, Exemption, and Instalments — Every Ontario employer with taxable Ontario remuneration files an annual Employer Health Tax return, due March 15 of the following year; employers over the instalment threshold also pay monthly. An exemption shelters a fixed amount of payroll, with no exemption once the employer or its associated group exceeds the upper payroll cap.
Ontario Minimum Wage: Current Rates — Ontario's minimum wage resets every October 1, indexed to the Ontario Consumer Price Index, with the confirmed new rates published by April 1. As of October 1, 2025 the general rate is $17.60/hour; from October 1, 2026 it rises to $17.95/hour. Confirm the live figures on the ontario.ca minimum-wage page before you rely on them.
Minimum Wage and the Three-Hour Rule — Ontario employers must pay at least the minimum wage, and when someone who normally works more than three hours a day shows up but gets sent home early, they must usually be paid for three hours.
Written Policy on Disconnecting from Work (25+ Employees) — If you employ 25 or more people on January 1 of a year, the ESA requires you to have a written policy on disconnecting from work in place before March 1 of that year, and to give a copy to every employee.
Electronic Monitoring Policy (25+ Employees) — An employer with 25 or more employees on January 1 must have a written policy on electronic monitoring in place by March 1 of that year, and give every employee a copy.
Job Postings: Salary Ranges, AI Disclosure and the Canadian-Experience Ban — Ontario employers running publicly advertised job postings must disclose expected pay, state if AI screens applicants, say whether the role is a real vacancy, and drop any Canadian-experience requirement.
Telling New Hires the Basics: Written Employment Information — Ontario employers with 25 or more employees must give each new hire a short written package of job basics — who the employer is, where and when they will work, and what they will be paid — before the first day, or promptly afterward if that is not practicable.
WSIB Premium Reporting Frequency and Annual Reconciliation — How often you report and pay WSIB premiums is set by your annual insurable earnings — monthly, quarterly, or annual. Monthly reporters (and any account closed mid-year) must also file an annual reconciliation; quarterly and annual reporters do not.
WSIB Maximum Insurable Earnings Ceiling (Annual Reset) — The WSIB caps the earnings it charges premiums on per worker at an annual maximum that resets every January 1, indexed to Ontario average earnings. For 2026 the ceiling is $121,700; confirm the current figure at wsib.ca, because it changes each year.
First Aid Requirements (Regulation 1101) — Every business covered by the WSIA must keep first aid kits and certified first-aiders on site, inspect the kits quarterly, keep certificates valid, and post the WSIB "In Case of Injury" poster (Form 82). WSIB administers these requirements under Regulation 1101.
JHSCs and Health and Safety Representatives: Who You Need and What They Do — Workplaces with 20 or more regular workers must run a joint health and safety committee; smaller ones where the headcount regularly tops five need at least one worker-selected health and safety representative, and both have rights to inspect, recommend, and get a written answer.
Workplace Violence: Policies, Risk Assessment and Program — Under the OHSA, every Ontario employer must have written policies on workplace violence and harassment, must assess the risk of violence, and must build a program to put the violence policy into action.
Workplace Harassment: Program, Investigation and Training — Beyond a harassment policy, the Occupational Health and Safety Act requires every employer to maintain a written program backing it up, investigate complaints appropriately, and train workers on both.
Keeping a Pay Equity Plan Current When Things Change — Pay equity is not a one-time exercise: every employer must keep its compensation practices in line, and when circumstances change, the pay equity plan can be amended through a defined process — but adjustments to any position can never be cut below what the old plan would have paid.
AODA Accessibility Compliance Report: the Three-Year Filing Cycle — Businesses and non-profits with 20 or more employees must file an AODA accessibility compliance report on a fixed three-year cycle, not annually. The most recent business deadline was December 31, 2023 and the next falls on December 31, 2026, but these dates can be reset, so confirm the current cycle and deadline at the named ontario.ca page.