Ontario · Handbook
Employee Handbook Kit for Ontario
Staff Handbook Template and Owner's Guide (Word + PDF)
A plain-English employee handbook written for Ontario employers, with Ontario's rules already in the text. A private Owner's Guide shows you how to fill it in and hand it out, in about 2 hours.
Is it for you?
Who it is for
Who it is for
- Owners and managers of Ontario businesses with about 1 to 50 employees and no HR department.
- Employers with no handbook, or one copied from somewhere else years ago.
Who it is not for
- Federally regulated employers (banks, airlines, telecom, interprovincial transport).
- Unionized workplaces.
- Employers outside Ontario, or staff who work in another province.
- Industries with extra rules, such as construction and farming, and other jobs with special rules or exemptions, unless you add those rules.
What is inside
Everything in the download
Employee Handbook (23 PDF pages): the file you give to staff
- 12 sections: welcome, employment basics, hours, breaks and overtime, pay, public holidays, vacation, leaves, code of conduct, health and safety, harassment, violence and human rights, privacy and technology, discipline and concerns, ending employment.
- 16 Law boxes that state the Ontario rule and link to the government source.
- A "Handbook on one page" summary and a sign-off page for each employee.
Owner's Guide (49 PDF pages): the file you keep
- The 10-minute method for filling in the handbook, a "before you hand it out" checklist, and a finished sample section for a made-up 12-worker business.
- Six worked calculations owners get wrong: overtime (the 44-hour rule), public holiday pay, vacation pay, banked time, notice with termination pay and final pay, and severance pay.
- Six scripts for hard conversations and three decision aids: "Can I say no to this leave request?", "Do I owe overtime pay?" and "Is this person an employee or a contractor?"
- Checklists: offer-letter essentials, a hazard assessment starter, and when someone starts or leaves.
- A headcount ladder that shows what applies as you grow, a records schedule and the notices you must give.
- Mistakes that cost owners money, a yearly calendar, a glossary, who to call and when to call a lawyer.
- 11 Law boxes and a table of the laws the kit follows.
Forms and Letters (11 PDF pages): the 6 fill-in pages (your answers sheet, the hand-out checklist, the three checklists and the employee sign-off page), each on its own page.
an employment agreement, discipline letters, benefit plan wording, payroll set-up. The Owner's Guide lists what an offer letter or agreement should say.
Employment Standards Act, 2000; Human Rights Code (Ontario).
What you get
The files
- One instant download (.zip).
- 3 files, each as Word (.docx) and PDF: Owner's Guide (49 pages), Employee Handbook (23 pages), Forms and Letters (11 pages).
- A 2-page START HERE guide and a 1-page licence and terms.
- In Word, click a yellow blank to type. The PDFs can be read, printed or filled in on screen.
How it helps
Why it is worth your time
- 01You do not have to look up Ontario's rules. They are already written in, with the source beside each one.
- 02Your staff get one clear document. You keep the guide, the scripts and the math.
- 03You can check any rule yourself in a minute: each Law box links to the official page and shows the date we checked it.
How it works
Three steps
- 1
Write your answers once on the answers sheet, then drop them into the handbook.
- 2
Check each Law box. You may give employees more than it says. Never less.
- 3
Hand out the Employee Handbook and file each signed sign-off page. Keep the Owner's Guide for yourself.
What you need
Microsoft Word or Google Docs, a PDF reader, and a printer or email. No apps, add-ins or subscriptions.
Updates
Free updates for 12 months from purchase. We email you when a new version is ready. Download it from your original receipt link. Law last checked: 10 November 2026. Next review: 10 May 2027.
This kit is general information and sample wording for small employers. It is not legal advice and does not replace a lawyer. We are not a law firm, and the kit was not written or reviewed by one. Each kit shows when to call a lawyer before you act. Read the full Not Legal Advice page.
Need more than one kit? The Ontario Complete Starter Bundle has all five Ontario kits for $439. Bought one by one they cost $635, so the bundle saves you $196 (about 31%).
Look inside first
Free sample pages
The cover, the “how to use this kit” page, the contents, a page of Law boxes and a real form or letter, marked “Sample”. No email needed.
Ontario
Employee Handbook Kit, ready today.
Digital download for businesses in Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba (not Quebec). All sales are final: no refunds once purchased. We refund a double charge, replace a file that will not download or open, and swap a wrong province within 7 days. One-business licence. Terms of Sale and Licence
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