Ghosting candidates? What is this, recruitment or a haunted house?
If you’ve ever poured your heart into a job interview only to be met with crickets, you’re not alone. “Interview ghosting”, where employers go silent after meeting with candidates, has long been a frustration, if not a soul-crushing, part of the job hunt. But, starting January 1, 2026, significant changes are coming to Ontario that aim to address this issue for publicly advertised roles.
Thanks to new amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, c. 41 (ESA), employers in Ontario will soon have a “duty to inform” job applicants that they have interviewed for publicly advertised roles. Effective January 1, 2026, employers will be required to communicate, whether that is in writing, in person, or “using technology”, within 45 days of the last interview that a hiring decision has been made (ESA). The days of waiting by your inbox, refreshing every ten minutes, may finally be numbered.
But wait a minute, employers, it won’t just be a “thanks, but no thanks” email. Employers must also keep records of every publicly available job posting, related application materials, and records of any and all information provided to candidates, including the final communication, for three (3) years (ESA). Think of it as a paper trail that says, “Yes, we told them” and “Here’s everything related to it.” This record-keeping requirement underscores the importance of transparent communication throughout the hiring process.
So, what does this really mean for employers? In short, structure, accountability, and a few calendar reminders. This isn’t just red tape, it’s part of a bigger shift toward transparency and respect in hiring. It encourages practices such as setting internal service level agreements for candidate communication, like acknowledging application receipts, providing post-screen responses, and offering post-interview updates, with a definitive status within 30-45 days (45 days being the outer limit).
These legislative amendments aim to provide closure for interviewed candidates, ensuring they receive an update on their application status, even if the decision is that they were not selected or that a decision has not yet been made.
This shift towards greater transparency and accountability in hiring practices reflects a broader trend in Canadian jurisdictions to curb ghosting and improve the candidate experience.
Job searching is already stressful enough. A little courtesy, and now, legal accountability, can make a big difference in how people perceive an organization. Whether a candidate gets the job or not, the goal is the same: give them closure.
A simple response goes a long way.
This blog post was written by Avaleah Plant, Human Resources and IT Manager. She can be reached at avaleah.plant@mannlawyers.com.
