Starting January 2024, recruiting firms and temp agencies are required to be licensed in Ontario.  Here’s how this affects you as an employer if you use these firms and agencies:

  • The licensing requirements apply to both permanent recruiting firms and temporary staffing agencies
  • To obtain a licence, recruiting firms and temp agencies must provide the Ontario government with:
    1. Detailed corporate information, including their history of Employment Standards Act compliance
    2. Financial security against future fines for non-compliance of up to $15,000 for a first offence, $25,000 for a second offence and $50,000 for a third offence in a 3 year period
  • Starting in January 2024, employers who knowingly use an unlicensed agency to provide permanent employees or temporary staff will also be subject to fines of up to $15,000 for a first offence, $25,000 for a second offence and $50,000 for a third offence in a 3 year period
  • Employers can protect themselves against the risk of these fines, and associated reputational risks in their communities from using unlicensed sources of labour, by taking steps to ensure that each firm they use has a valid and up-to-date licence. These steps can include:
    1. Requiring each firm or agency to provide evidence of their licence covering the full period that recruiting and temp services will be provided to the employer
    2. Requiring firms and agencies to provide annual evidence of licence renewals
    3. Ensuring that the firm or agency’s licence and renewal is reflected on the Government of Ontario’s publicly available registry at  http://www.ontario.ca/page/licensing-temporary-help-agencies-and-recruiters

At AES, we take our legal and ethical obligations to clients and employees seriously. We aim to partner with our clients to be an employer of choice for the top quality and diverse pool of talent across Ontario. Please contact us if you have comments or questions about the above, or if we can help with any of your staffing, employment or HR needs.