Is Your Employer Watching? Electronic Monitoring Rules in Ontario

Under Ontario's Employment Standards Act, employers with 25 or more employees must have a written policy on electronic monitoring and give a copy to employees.

What the policy must say

• Whether the employer monitors employees electronically.
• How and in what circumstances, for example email, computer use, GPS or cameras.
• The purposes for which information may be used.
• When the policy was prepared and any changes.

Timing

Employees must receive a copy within the time the rules set, and new employees soon after starting.

What the rule doesn't do

• It doesn't create a new right to privacy or ban monitoring.
• Other laws may limit some monitoring, and human rights and privacy principles still apply.

Tips for employees

• Assume work devices and accounts can be monitored.
• Keep personal matters on personal devices.

Tips for employers

Write a clear policy, give it to everyone, and use monitoring only for the purposes it states.

Sources

• Employment Standards Act, 2000
• Ontario: your guide to the Employment Standards Act

Read next: The Right to Disconnect: Ontario's After-Hours Policy Rule

General Ontario legal information, not legal advice for your matter, and reading it does not create a retainer. Sources checked 15 October 2026: check the current law, forms and dates before you act.

Photos from Pexels: A laptop showing a cybersecurity message · A desk with a laptop by a window.

This article is general information for people in Ontario, not legal advice. Rules, forms and deadlines change, and every situation is different. Check the current rule or speak to a licensed legal professional before you act.