Hiring restaurant staff in Toronto: Ontario's 2026 job posting rules in practice

Hiring in Toronto hospitality is constant: line cooks, servers, baristas, hosts, dishwashers and managers, often on short notice and against every other restaurant on the street. Since January 1, 2026, Ontario has added rules for job postings that larger employers must follow, and they are good practice for smaller ones too. The rule itself is covered in the guide on Ontario's 2026 job posting rules for restaurants; this guide is about writing the posting.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check the current rules with Ontario's Ministry of Labour or a professional.

What are Ontario's job posting rules for 2026?

From January 1, 2026, employers with 25 or more employees must, in publicly advertised job postings:

• Include the expected pay, or a pay range, for the position, within limits on how wide a range can be
• State whether the posting is for an existing vacancy, rather than collecting applications for possible future roles
• Disclose whether artificial intelligence is used to screen, assess or select applicants

Restaurant groups and larger venues often cross the 25-employee threshold once part-time staff are counted. Check your headcount.

Should smaller restaurants include pay anyway?

Yes. Applicants skip postings without pay, and a posted rate brings better applicants faster, whatever the legal threshold. In hospitality, where people compare several jobs on their phone between shifts, pay is often the first thing they look for.

How do you write a good restaurant job posting?

• A clear title: line cook, server, barista, host, dishwasher, sous chef
• The work pattern: full-time, part-time, evenings, weekends, seasonal
• Pay, as a rate or range
• What a shift looks like: the kitchen, the pace, the team
• What you offer: staff meals, training, tip sharing, flexibility, a route to promotion
• Whether it is an existing vacancy

What screening questions work for restaurant roles?

Two or three, short and practical: availability, relevant experience in plain terms and whether they hold a food handler certificate. Avoid long essays. Good applicants often apply from a phone, and a short application gets finished.

How do you keep track of applicants and interviews?

Keep one list with a stage for each person: applied, screening, interview, offer, hired. That beats applications scattered across email, texts and CVs handed in at the door. When you are hiring several people, offer a batch of interview times and let candidates choose, so the schedule fills without back-and-forth and nobody is double-booked.

How do you keep good staff once you hire them?

The cheapest hire is the one you never have to make. Schedules published well in advance, a fair and written tip policy, training that helps people improve and managers who listen keep staff longer than any single perk. In Toronto, where commutes are long and rents are high, predictable hours and shifts that fit transit schedules matter a great deal. Ask people who leave why they are going, and fix the patterns you hear more than once.

When should you hire ahead of busy seasons?

Post six to eight weeks before patio season, Summerlicious and Winterlicious, TIFF or the holidays. State the season dates in the posting so applicants know whether it is a summer role or permanent.

How do you check a new hire can work in Canada?

Before a new hire starts, you need their Social Insurance Number for payroll, and you should confirm they are allowed to work in Canada.

• Citizens and permanent residents can work for any employer.
• Temporary residents, such as international students and people on work permits, can work only within their permit conditions, including any limit on hours. Ask to see the permit and note any end date.
• Hiring from outside Canada usually involves a separate federal process.

Check the Government of Canada's current rules, since permit conditions change and the employer is responsible for getting this right. The guides on hiring international students and hiring temporary foreign workers in BC and Ontario go further.

What should you do after a hire?

Ask both sides for honest feedback after the first month, keep a note of strong candidates you did not hire (with their agreement) for the next vacancy, and keep contracts, certificates and onboarding records together in one place.

How do you post your first role?

1. Choose the title and the work pattern.
2. Include real pay and say whether it is an existing vacancy.
3. Add two or three screening questions.
4. Review applications daily.
5. Keep a list of strong candidates for the next vacancy.

More from Toronto: TIFF and big event weekends and scheduling and rest rules.

More in the Canadian guides for food businesses.