Jobs for Teens in Ontario: Rules by Age and Where to Start

What a 14 year old actually needs to know

Can you work at 14, what can you do, will you get paid properly, and is anything about it unsafe? In Ontario the answers are: yes, in some places, the student minimum wage may apply, and your employer has to train you on health and safety. The details change at 15, 16 and 18, so start there.

Minimum age by workplace

There is no single age. The province sets a minimum age by the kind of workplace, and the age goes up as the risk does.

• 14. Industrial workplaces other than factories: offices, stores, arenas and the serving area of a restaurant.
• 15. Factories, which the province defines to include restaurant kitchens, warehouses, auto service garages, laundries, repair shops, and produce and meat preparation or shipping and receiving in grocery stores.
• 16. Construction (apart from one role that needs 19), logging, mining plants and surface mines away from the working face.
• 18. Underground mines, the working face of a surface mine, window cleaning and offshore oil and gas rigs.

So a 14 year old can work the till at a store but not the fryer in the back. And one rule is separate from all of these: the province says employers cannot employ anyone under 16 during school hours, with exceptions set out in Ontario Regulation 374/10.

What we could not confirm.None of the official pages we read sets a cap on a teenager's weekly hours outside school hours, and none describes a work permit for an ordinary job. If either matters to you, check ontario.ca's guide to the Employment Standards Act or call the ministry, rather than taking our word or a friend's.

The student minimum wage

From October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027 the general minimum wage is $17.95 an hour and the student minimum wage is $16.90. The student rate is for people under 18 who work 28 hours a week or fewer while school is on, or who work during breaks and the summer.

Two other rules from the province's young workers' page: you cannot be made to work more than five hours in a row without a 30-minute eating break, and you should get a wage statement with each pay.

Health and safety training comes with the job

Ontario Regulation 297/13 requires workers to complete basic health and safety awareness training, and the employer is responsible for providing it. The province says new workers should get it in their first few days, before they are exposed to hazards.

The province's own course, Worker Health and Safety Awareness in 4 Steps, covers how workers fit into health and safety at work, the right to know about hazards, ways to take part, and where to get help, including the right to refuse unsafe work. It can be done face to face with a workbook or as eLearning, which takes 45 to 60 minutes in one sitting and ends with a proof of completion. This is Ontario's version of what some other places call a young workers readiness course. Keep your proof of completion.

You can say no to unsafe work

Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act you can refuse work you believe is unsafe. You tell your supervisor or employer right away, and you stay in a safe place near your workstation while it is looked into. The employer is not allowed to penalize, discipline, suspend or threaten you for refusing. If it is not sorted out, the worker or the employer contacts the Ministry for an inspector.

To report unsafe practices or a work refusal, call the Ministry's Health and Safety Contact Centre at 1-877-202-0008 (TTY 1-855-653-9260). In an emergency, call 911. If you are under 18, tell a parent or guardian too.

Common first jobs, from Job Bank

These are the jobs teens most often start in, with what Job Bank says about each across Ontario. The outlook is for 2025 to 2027, and the pay is the median hourly wage. The table is built from Job Bank's own data, not typed in by us.

Read the pay column carefully. Job Bank describes everyone who works in each job, adults included. It is not a teen wage. A 14 or 15 year old starting out may be paid less than these medians, and if you are under 18 and working 28 hours a week or fewer in the school year, the student minimum wage of $16.90 may apply. Several medians sit at $17.95, which is the general minimum wage from the section above.

“Usually needs” is the education Job Bank says the job usually asks of an adult. For most of these it is a short demonstration or on-the-job training, which is why they are common first jobs. Whether a given job is open to a 14 or 15 year old depends on the workplace rules above. Many of them, in kitchens and warehouses, start at 15.

More lists like this are on jobs you can start with a high school diploma, the full Job Bank outlook explorer, and jobs, described honestly.

Where teens actually find first jobs

• Job Bank. The federal job board has a youth section for part-time and full-time jobs, and student and part-time are common searches.
• Canada Summer Jobs. The federal program helps young people aged 15 to 30 get paid summer work. Check canada.ca for this year's details; the page was last updated 14 August 2026.
• Ontario's summer jobs page. It lists Youth Job Connection Summer, for students aged 15 to 18 who face barriers to finding work, and Summer Company, which gives business training and awards of up to $3,000 to students aged 15 to 29 who start a business. The page was last updated in April 2025, so confirm the current ages and dates there.
• Walk in and ask. Many first jobs are local. A parent or guardian can come along.

Ontario — Summer jobs for students and Canada Summer Jobs are the sources.

If you would rather make your own money

A job is not the only way to earn. Making money as a teen covers the options, including side hustles and starting a business, and the Ontario youth entrepreneurship programs are worth a look.

Pick a job that leads somewhere

A first job is mostly about hours and pay, but it also tells you what you like. The free career test takes ten minutes and stores nothing. And if you also need community hours for the diploma, read how the 40 volunteer hours work, because the province rules out work normally done for wages.