Ontario employers will soon be forced to give up the ghost.
In new legislation to be announced by Labour Minister David Piccini on Friday — which was inspired by a story in the Star about “ghost jobs” — larger companies will have to disclose in help wanted ads whether a position actually exists and needs to be filled, or if the posting is to find candidates for future openings.Â
Employers will also be required to respond to job applicants they’ve interviewed — rather than leaving them hanging with false hope — which would be a first in Canada.Â
“We saw (the Star story) and I’ve had conversations over the last several months” about the issue with workers on job sites and at various plants around the province, Piccini told the Star in an interview.
“How do you create the best Ontario we can be? I think we want an Ontario where there’s individual responsibility and an employer responsibility and elevating that societal contract, which says that if you post a job and interview for it, you have the common courtesy of getting back to someone — even if it’s just a note to say, ‘We’ve gone with someone else.’”Â
When Piccini was enrolled in co-operative education courses at the University of Ottawa, “there were some employers that I had been really excited to work with, and I didn’t get a response back,” he said. “There were some who did respond, and who gave me constructive feedback on the interview process. And what we’re seeing here is the baseline that you have to get back to someone to let them know.”
And, he added, “there are many more who do more than that, who really tailor a personalized response.”
Piccini said the new measures build on the province’s four previous “Working for Workers” bills, which have mandated more transparency in ads by requiring that salary ranges be included, and also making Ontario the first province to do away with Canadian work experience as a job requirement.
Last December, the Star’s Kevin Jiang wrote about job-seekers applying to so-called ”ghost jobs” — positions advertised by companies that had no immediate plans to hire, or that had already set the job aside for an internal hire. In some cases, companies had simply forgotten to remove online job postings.
A survey of more than 1,000 American managers by Clarify Capital late last year found 43 per cent admitted to posting “ghost jobs.” While 37 per cent said they did it to keep a pool of candidates in case a job became vacant, others said it was to “placate overworked employees.”
While regulations around the new legislation will set out specifics, the government plans to have a general intake line for applicants to report non-compliance. The Ministry of Labour will take a gentle approach at first, informing companies of their responsibilities, but will be able to follow up with penalties.
The legislation, which would change the Employment Standards Act, “would make the hiring process fairer for jobseekers who are trying to get into the workforce … Additionally, proposed changes would require larger employers to respond to job applicants whom they have interviewed once the position has been filled, which would make Ontario the first province in Canada to set this standard,” the ministry said in a written statement.
Consultations will be held on the changes, including the sizes of companies to be included, as well as possible penalties.
Piccini said small businesses will be exempt from the new rules so as not to unfairly burden them.
“We’re sending a strong message with legislation and then look forward to engaging in the consultation process,” he said.
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