Employment & Social Services – Customer Service Standards

Toronto Employment & Social Services provides financial supports, social supports, and referrals to employment supports for people receiving Ontario Works in Toronto.

Toronto Employment & Social Services is committed to providing professional and consistent service as outlined in the City-wide Service Promise. In some cases, legislative or operational realities require exceptions or additions to these service standards. For Toronto Employment & Social Services, these are outlined below, along with other important service information.

Service Standards

Toronto Employment & Social Services is dedicated to delivering high-quality service. You can expect:

  • to be treated with dignity and respect
  • professional, prompt and polite service
  • to be provided with up-to-date information in a timely manner
  • that staff will respect your privacy and confidentiality
  • staff to work with you to develop a mutually agreed upon plan based on your needs
  • Telephone calls will be acknowledged within two business days.
  • Personal voicemail greetings will be courteous, give the caller as much information as possible and request callers to leave a detailed message.
  • Voicemail boxes are cleared daily.
  • Recorded vacation or absence messages will provide a co-worker’s name and phone number as backup while out of the office.

Due to privacy concerns, Toronto Employment & Social Services does not use email as a communication method with people receiving social assistance.

People receiving Ontario Works (OW) or Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) can sign up for an online portal called MyBenefits.

Inquiries received through MyBenefits will be acknowledged within two business days.

Answered within five business days following receipt of a letter.

  • You will be seen or acknowledged within 15 minutes of your scheduled appointment time.
  • Should you visit our office without an appointment and request assistance you will be registered at reception and will be acknowledged by staff within 15 minutes.
  • Should you have a complaint about the service you receive, or disagree with a decision about your case, you can speak with a member of the management team within 30 minutes.

Providing excellent service is important to us. If you would like to provide feedback about the service you are receiving from Toronto Employment & Social Services, you can submit a complaint or compliment.

The Service User Code of Conduct outlines expectations for customer behaviour and actions that may be taken by the City to uphold the rights of staff to work in a safe environment, free from harassment and discrimination based on the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Policy.