# Hiring in Canada

Review edition — pending Theo Smith approval.

## Can this worker be employed through an EOR?

Ontario temporary help agencies must hold a licence under the provincial licensing regime. The legal entity employing the worker must be checked, and clients must not knowingly use an unlicensed agency.

Applies to: Ontario temporary help agency arrangements; transitional licence applications must be checked in the register

Still to establish: Actual employer, licence status, arrangement classification and other provinces

- Actual employer, licence status, arrangement classification and other provinces

Next step: Confirm Actual employer, licence status, arrangement classification and other provinces.

- [Ontario Government](https://www.ontario.ca/page/licensing-temporary-help-agencies-and-recruiters)

Checked 2026-09-28. Research status: partial.

## What does employment cost above salary?

For a 2026 Ontario worker outside Quebec, the employer matches CPP at 5.95% on pensionable earnings from CAD 3,500 to 74,600, then CPP2 at 4% from CAD 74,600 to 85,000. Employer EI is 2.282% of insurable earnings to CAD 68,900. Ontario employer health tax and workplace insurance depend on the employing entity and payroll; obtain those separately.

Applies to: {"countryCode": "CA", "subnational": "Ontario", "worker": "resident office employee baseline; foreign-national route separately unresolved"}

- Ontario EHT employer-level base
- WSIB industry rate and coverage
- benefit obligations

Next step: Confirm Ontario EHT employer-level base.

- [Canada Revenue Agency](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/payroll/t4032-payroll-deductions-tables/t4032oc-jan/t4032oc-january-general-information.html)
- [Boundless](https://boundlesshq.com/guides/canada/)

Checked 2026-09-28. Research status: partial.

## What should a buyer verify about the legal employer?

Ontario temporary help agencies must hold a licence under the provincial licensing regime. The legal entity employing the worker must be checked, and clients must not knowingly use an unlicensed agency.

Applies to: Ontario temporary help agency arrangements; transitional licence applications must be checked in the register

Still to establish: Actual employer, licence status, arrangement classification and other provinces

- Actual employer, licence status, arrangement classification and other provinces

Next step: Confirm Actual employer, licence status, arrangement classification and other provinces.

- [Ontario Government](https://www.ontario.ca/page/licensing-temporary-help-agencies-and-recruiters)

Checked 2026-09-28. Research status: partial.

## Does ending an Ontario client assignment end the employee’s EOR employment?

Applies to: Ontario temporary help agency assignment employees; other provinces and arrangements differ

Not automatically. Separate the client assignment from the employment relationship with the agency. Ask the legal employer to assess assignment-ending obligations and any distinct employment termination before the client communicates an exit.

Supported rule: Ontario’s agency rules provide a conditional one-week notice or pay obligation when an assignment originally estimated at three months or more ends early. Assignment and employment termination are separate concepts; statutory exceptions apply.

- Original estimated assignment duration and actual end
- Alternative assignment and statutory exceptions
- Employment termination, severance and final-pay obligations

Illustrative example: A six-month assignment ends after four months. Do not mark the employee dismissed in the HR system until the employer determines whether employment continues and which obligations arise.

- [Ontario: temporary help agency interpretation](https://www.ontario.ca/document/employment-standard-act-policy-and-interpretation-manual/part-xviii1-temporary-help-agencies)

## What licence should we check before switching an Ontario EOR?

Applies to: Ontario temporary help agency arrangements; not all Canadian employment models

For a temporary help agency arrangement, check the licence of the actual incoming legal entity, not just the provider brand. Confirm the record covers the proposed activity before agreeing the transition date.

Supported rule: Ontario’s regime requires temporary help agencies to be licensed, and clients must not knowingly use an unlicensed agency. Transitional application status must be checked where relevant.

- Exact employing entity and licence status
- Whether the arrangement is temporary help agency employment
- Service, leave, benefit and employment-transition treatment

Illustrative example: Two brands may use different legal employers. A licence held by one group company does not establish the status of the entity named in the employee’s proposed contract.

- [Ontario: agency licensing](https://www.ontario.ca/page/licensing-temporary-help-agencies-and-recruiters)