Ontario employer dates, October to March
Five dates, one annual review, and the on-hire duties that every Ontario employer with staff should have on the calendar between now and spring.
October 1 — minimum wage rises. The general rate goes from $17.60 to $17.95 an hour; the rate for students under 18 who work 28 hours a week or less while school is in session, or who work during a school break or the summer holidays, from $16.60 to $16.90; homeworkers from $19.35 to $19.70. It's adjusted every October 1 against the Ontario Consumer Price Index. Anyone at or near the floor needs a rate change that day, and any job posting still showing the old rate needs updating.
December 31, 2026 — AODA accessibility compliance report. Provincially regulated businesses and non-profits with 20 or more employees in Ontario file through the provincial portal; a senior officer (or director) with the legal authority to certify that the report is complete and accurate signs it. Every three years, so expect the next one at the end of 2029 — the ministry publishes each cycle's date. You need a portal account before you can file, so create it well ahead of the deadline.
Last day of February — T4 and T4A slips. File the information return with the CRA and give each employee their slip. When the last day of February falls on a weekend, the CRA accepts the next business day — for 2026 slips that is Monday, March 1, 2027.
March 15 — Employer Health Tax annual return. The first $1 million of Ontario payroll is exempt for eligible private-sector employers; whether you still have to file depends on your payroll and registration, so confirm with the Ministry of Finance or your accountant.
March 31 — WSIB annual reconciliation, for employers who report premiums monthly. Reporting frequency depends on insurable earnings.
Once a year, on a date you choose: review the workplace violence policy and the workplace harassment policy — every employer must review each at least annually, and they must be written and posted once you regularly employ six or more workers. If you regularly employ more than five workers, review the written occupational health and safety policy on the same day. Date and initial each; that record is the evidence.
On hire: give every ESA-covered employee a copy of the ministry's "Employment Standards in Ontario" poster within 30 days; if you have 25 or more employees, give new hires written job details — your legal and operating name, contact information, work location, starting pay, pay period and payday, and expected hours — before their first day, or as soon as reasonably possible after if that is not practicable (a rule in force since July 1, 2025); and, for most industries, register with the WSIB within 10 days of hiring your first employee (a few industries are exempt and construction has its own rules).
A free calendar that filters all of this by your headcount — including what changes at more than 5, 20, 25, and 50 employees — is at plainkit.lol/ontario-calendar. No account, nothing uploaded.
Sources: ontario.ca (minimum wage; mandatory poster and information sheets; workplace violence and harassment; Guide to the Occupational Health and Safety Act; completing your accessibility compliance report; Employer Health Tax), canada.ca (T4 slips and filing deadlines), wsib.ca (registration and reconciliation). Checked September 14, 2026; corrected September 15, 2026. Information, not legal or tax advice. Article by plainkit.lol, CC BY 4.0.