The information in this chapter is currently being updated to reflect amendments to the ESA that came into force on July 1, 2023. Consequently, some of the information below is out of date. Please check back soon for updates.

Overview

All employers in Ontario are required to keep written records about each person they hire.

These records must be kept by the employer, or by someone else on behalf of the employer, for a certain period. The employer must also ensure that the records are readily available for inspection.

Contents and retention of employee records

The employer must record and retain the following information for each employee.

Employee’s personal information

The employee's name, address and starting date of employment

This must be kept for three years after the employee stopped working for the employer.

The employee's date of birth if the employee is a student under 18

This must be kept for either three years after the employee's 18th birthday or three years after the employee stopped working for the employer, whichever happens first.

Hours of work and pay

The dates, times and hours worked by the employee

The employer must record and retain the dates and times the employee worked. The employer must also record the hours worked by the employee in each day and each week.

This must be kept for three years after the day or week of work.

If an employee receives a salary (such as, a fixed amount) for each pay period and the amount paid does not change (except if the employee works more than 44 hours in a week) the employer is only required to record:

  • the employee's hours in excess of those hours in the employee's regular work week

    and
  • the number of hours in excess of eight per day (or in excess of the hours in the employee's regular work day, if it is more than eight hours)

Employers are not required to record the dates and times the employee worked or the hours of work for employees who are entitled to receive a fixed amount (salary) for each pay period where the amount paid does not change and who are exempt from overtime pay and the provisions for maximum hours of work.

The regular rate for each hour of overtime worked, where the employee has two or more regular rates of pay

The employer must record the dates, times and regular rate for each overtime hour worked, if the employee:

  • has two or more regular pay rates, and
  • in a work week, performed work for the employer exceeding the overtime threshold.

These records must be kept for three years.

Written agreements to work excess hours or average overtime pay

The employer must retain copies of every agreement made with an employee to work excess hours or to average overtime pay for three years after the last day on which work was performed under the agreement.

Information contained in an employee's wage statement

This must be kept for three years after the information was given to the employee

Vacation, public holidays and leaves

Vacation time records

The employer must keep records of:

  • the vacation time earned since the date of hire but not taken before the start of the vacation entitlement year
  • the vacation time earned during the vacation entitlement year (or stub period)
  • the vacation time taken (if any) during the vacation entitlement year (or stub period)
  • the amount of vacation time earned since the date of hire but not taken as of the end of the vacation entitlement year (or stub period)

The employer must make these records by whichever is later:

  • seven days after the start of the next vacation entitlement year (or first vacation entitlement year if the records relate to a stub period)
  • the first payday after the next vacation entitlement year ends (or first vacation entitlement year if the records relate to a stub period)

Generally, this information must be kept for five years after the record of vacation time was made.

Vacation pay records

The employer must keep records of the vacation pay earned and paid to the employee during the vacation entitlement year (or stub period, if any) and how that vacation pay was calculated.

The employer must make these records by whichever is later:

  • seven days after the start of the next vacation entitlement year (or first vacation entitlement year if the records relate to a stub period)
  • the first payday after the next vacation entitlement year ends (or first vacation entitlement year if the records relate to a stub period)

Generally, this information must be kept for five years after the record of vacation pay was made.

Substituted day off for public holiday

If a day is substituted for a public holiday, the employer must provide the employee with a written statement containing:

  • the public holiday which is being substituted
  • the date of the substituted day
  • the date on which the statement is provided to the employee

The employer must retain a record of the information contained on the statement for three years.

Information related to leaves

An employer must keep, or arrange for some other person to keep, all notices, certificates, correspondence and other documents given to, or produced by, the employer that relate to an employee taking a leave. This information must be kept for three years after the day on which the leave expired.

This includes all the documents relating to an employee’s:

  • pregnancy leave
  • parental leave
  • sick leave
  • family responsibility leave
  • bereavement leave
  • declared emergency leave
  • infectious disease emergency leave
  • family caregiver leave
  • family medical leave
  • critical illness leave
  • organ donor leave
  • reservist leave
  • domestic or sexual violence leave
  • child death leave
  • crime-related child disappearance leave

Policies on disconnecting from work and electronic monitoring

Employers must retain copies of every written policy on disconnecting from work and every written policy on electronic monitoring for three years after the policy is no longer in effect.

Homeworker register

Employers who employ “homeworkers” are also required to keep a register containing the name, address and the homeworker's rate of pay. This must be kept until three years after the homeworker stopped being employed by the employer.

Temporary help agencies and clients

In addition to complying with the general record keeping obligations discussed in this chapter, a temporary help agency must also:

  • record the number of hours an assignment employee worked for each client in each day and each week
  • retain a copy of any written notice provided to an assignment employee about the termination of an assignment

The client(s) of a temporary help agency must also record the number of hours the assignment employee worked for them in each day and each week.

The temporary help agency and its client(s) must retain those records for three years after the day or week to which the information relates.

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