Since January 1, 2026, Ontario employers with 25 or more employees must put expected pay (unless it exceeds $200,000 a year), a statement if AI is used to screen, assess or select applicants, and a vacancy statement in every publicly advertised job posting, must not ask for Canadian experience, and must tell interviewed candidates whether a hiring decision has been made within 45 days. A solo practice may fall under that threshold, but a practice with several locations or many part-time staff may reach 25, and the headcount rules are easy to misread.
Is your next hygienist or assistant posting compliant? As of October 2026, the new Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) job posting rules have been in force for nine months. The rules came into effect with a new regulation, O. Reg. 476/24, and they apply to postings put up on or after January 1, 2026.
This guide walks through who is covered, what each requirement means in a dental hiring context, and a template you can adapt. The rules below are drawn from the Government of Ontario's own Your guide to the Employment Standards Act; the dental examples and tips are our own reading. For your specific situation, confirm with an employment lawyer or the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD).
Step 1: Find Out Whether the Rules Apply to Your Practice
The job posting requirements do not apply to an employer that employs fewer than 25 employees on the day the posting goes up. That sounds like a clear exemption for most solo practices, but three details in Ontario's guidance catch owners out.
Count people, not full-time equivalents
Ontario counts individual employees, not full-time equivalents. Part-time and casual employees each count as one. A practice with a lean full-time core but a roster of part-time hygienists, assistants and front-desk staff can cross 25 sooner than its payroll suggests.
Count every Ontario location together
Where an employer has multiple locations, all employees at each Ontario location are included. Ontario's guidance also notes that, in certain circumstances, two or more employers may be treated as one employer under the ESA, in which case all their Ontario employees count together. If you own practices in, say, Markham and Scarborough through related corporations, get advice on whether they would be treated as one employer.
Include people who aren't on the schedule this week
The count includes probationary employees, employees on a leave of absence, employees on lay-off where the employment relationship has not ended, and employees on fixed-term or specific-task contracts of any length. Temporary help agency assignment workers are counted by the agency, not by the client practice they are placed with.
Step 2: Know What Counts as a "Publicly Advertised Job Posting"
Ontario defines it as an external posting that an employer, or someone acting for the employer, advertises to the general public in any manner. Three exclusions matter for dental practices:
- General recruitment ads. An ad that only reads "we are hiring" or "we are always looking for talent" does not advertise a specific position and is not covered. An ad for a "Registered Dental Hygienist, Tuesday to Friday" is.
- Internal postings. A position open only to existing employees is excluded.
- Work outside Ontario. Postings for work performed outside Ontario are excluded.
Two rules make you responsible for content you might not think of as "the posting." First, if your posting links to a website or attaches a document with relevant information, that material counts as part of the posting. Second, if you use a recruiter or post on a third-party job board, you are still responsible for compliance.
Step 3: Apply the Four Posting Rules and the Interview Rule
1. Expected compensation or a range
Include either the expected compensation or a range. A range can be no wider than the equivalent of $50,000 CAD per year. Ontario's own example: $85,000 to $135,000 is allowed; $85,000 to $140,000 is not. The requirement does not apply where the expected pay, or the top of the range, is more than $200,000 a year.
For dental roles, the details matter more than the headline number:
- Mixed pay structures. If pay has more than one component, such as an hourly rate plus a production-based bonus, you must give information about each type. You don't need to spell out the formula.
- Bonuses you can't put a dollar figure on. You may describe how it is earned. Ontario's example is "a bonus of up to 10% of the annual salary, based on individual performance."
- What is excluded. Compensation means wages under the ESA. It covers hourly rates, salary, commission and bonuses tied to hours, production or efficiency. It excludes tips, expense reimbursements and bonuses that are both discretionary and unrelated to hours, production or efficiency. Subject to some exceptions, it also excludes employer contributions to a benefit plan.
Posting a range does not oblige you to hire within it, and the ESA does not stop you from using an internal pay band wider than $50,000. The limit applies only to what appears in the posting.
Pro Tip: Ontario states the range cap as "an amount equivalent to $50,000 per year" but does not say how to convert hourly rates. A cautious approach is to convert any hourly range to an annual equivalent using the role's expected hours, and to confirm the method with your accountant or employment lawyer before you publish.
2. An artificial intelligence statement
If you use artificial intelligence to screen, assess or select applicants, the posting must say so. Ontario defines AI broadly: a machine-based system that infers from its inputs to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations or decisions. Whether a particular tool falls within the definition depends on the facts.
Two practical points. The obligation applies if a recruiting firm uses AI on your behalf, so ask any agency you use. And the disclosure can be short: Ontario says it is enough to state that AI is used to screen, assess or select applicants.
3. A vacancy statement
State whether the posting is for an existing vacancy. Ontario defines an existing vacancy as a position that is imminently available for a qualified candidate. If you are building a pool of hygienists for future coverage, say there is no existing vacancy. The rule does not oblige you to fill a vacancy you advertise.
4. No Canadian experience requirement
You cannot require Canadian experience in the posting or in any associated application form. Ontario lists Canadian work experience, Canadian education credentials, and a requirement to have an established professional network or client base as examples.
This does not stop you from requiring professional licensing or registration. A requirement to hold current registration with the regulatory college for the role is a licensing requirement, which the ESA prohibition expressly does not cover. Ontario also notes that Canadian experience requirements may be subject to other laws, such as the Ontario Human Rights Code.
5. After the posting: answer every interviewed candidate
This obligation sits outside the posting itself. If you interview someone for a covered posting, you must tell them whether a hiring decision has been made within 45 days of the interview. If you interview the same candidate more than once, the clock runs from the last interview, unless the interviews are more than 45 days apart, in which case you must update them after each one.
A quick phone call to confirm minimum qualifications is a preliminary screening, not an interview. A meeting, in person, by phone or by video, that assesses suitability is generally an interview; Ontario says it depends on the circumstances. You can notify candidates in person, in writing, by phone, video, email or text, or by posting a status update on a job portal as long as the candidate gets a link to it.
Step 4: Set Up Record-Keeping Before You Post
Employers must keep a copy of every covered posting and any associated application form for three years after the public can no longer see it. If you edit the posting while it is live, keep every version. If the posting links to a page or document, keep a copy of that too. Copies of the information you give interviewed candidates must also be kept for three years from the day you provided it.
Pro Tip: Create one folder per posting the day it goes live. Save a PDF of the ad on each job board, a PDF of any linked careers page, the application form, and a dated log of every candidate notice. If a question ever comes up, nothing has to be reconstructed.
A Template Your Practice Can Adapt
The structure below covers the posting rules, plus an optional line about the interview rule. Fill in your own details and have it reviewed before use.
- Position: Registered Dental Hygienist, part-time (two days per week), North York location
- Vacancy: This posting is for an existing vacancy. (or: This posting is not for an existing vacancy.)
- Compensation: [hourly rate or range, with the annual equivalent no wider than $50,000 CAD], plus [describe each other component, such as a production-based bonus and how it is earned]
- Use of AI: We use artificial intelligence to screen applicants for this position. (Include only if true; confirm with any recruiter you use.)
- Requirements: Current registration with the applicable Ontario regulatory college. (No Canadian work experience, Canadian education credentials, or established professional network or client base requirements.)
- After your interview (optional; not required in the posting): We will let every interviewed candidate know whether a hiring decision has been made within 45 days.
What If You're Under 25 Employees?
The rules don't apply, but there are good reasons to check your headcount each time you post. The threshold is measured on the day the posting goes up, so a practice that adds a second location or a few part-time staff can cross it mid-year. Building the five elements into your standard template now means you won't have to remember to switch.
The interview-notice rule also has a transition point worth knowing: it applies to interviews held on or after January 1, 2026, even for postings that went up before that date.
Enforcement
MLITSD invites reports of possible non-compliance with the job posting rules at PubliclyAdvertisedJP@ontario.ca. In practice, anyone can forward a posting to the ministry. Getting the template right once is far easier than defending a posting after the fact.
How is your practice handling the new posting rules, particularly pay ranges for hourly hygiene roles? Share what has worked for your team. For more practice management resources for Canadian dental professionals, visit EBIKO Dental.
Sources
- Government of Ontario: Requirements related to publicly advertised job postings
- Government of Ontario: Your guide to the Employment Standards Act, Recent changes
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do Ontario's job posting rules apply to small dental practices?
Only if the practice has 25 or more employees on the day the posting is published. Part-time and casual staff each count as one employee, and employees at every Ontario location are counted together, so multi-location practices may qualify.
Q: Can a dental job posting require registration with a regulatory college?
Yes. Ontario's guidance says the ban on Canadian experience requirements does not apply to professional licensing or registration requirements. What you cannot require is Canadian work experience, Canadian education credentials, or an established professional network or client base.
Q: How wide can the pay range be in an Ontario job posting?
No wider than the equivalent of $50,000 CAD per year. The pay disclosure requirement does not apply when expected pay, or the top of the range, exceeds $200,000 per year.