Record of Employment — ROE (Canada)

A Record of Employment — ROE in Canada is a legally binding written instrument.S.C. 1985, c. L-2). It defines duties, remuneration, working hours, leave, and termination procedures binding employer and employee.

The obligation to issue an ROE arises under section 19 of the Employment Insurance Regulations (SOR/96-332), which requires employers to issue an ROE whenever an employee has or is anticipated to have an interruption of earnings — defined as seven or more consecutive calendar days with no work and no insurable earnings from that employer. The ROE must be issued within five calendar days of the first day of the interruption of earnings for paper ROEs, or within five calendar days of the end of the pay period in which the interruption occurred for electronic ROEs filed through Service Canada's ROE Web system.

The ROE captures two critical figures for EI eligibility: insurable hours and insurable earnings. Insurable hours (reported in Block 15A) are the total hours worked in insurable employment during the reference period — generally the 52 weeks before the interruption, or since the last ROE was issued, whichever is shorter. The Employment Insurance Act requires claimants to have accumulated between 420 and 700 qualifying hours of insurable employment in the 52-week qualifying period before the benefit period, with the exact threshold depending on the regional unemployment rate in the claimant's area under subsection 7(2) of the Act. Insurable earnings (Block 15B) are the total earnings subject to EI premiums during the relevant period, up to the annual maximum insurable earnings — set at $63,200 for 2024 by Order-in-Council under subsection 4(2) of the Act.

The ROE reason code (Block 16) classifies the reason for the interruption of earnings and directly affects EI eligibility. Code A (Shortage of Work) and Code D (Illness or Injury) qualify the claimant for regular and sickness benefits respectively without disqualification concerns. Code E (Quit) and Code F (Dismissal) trigger a Service Canada investigation into whether the claimant left without just cause or was dismissed for misconduct — either of which may result in disqualification from regular EI benefits under sections 29 and 30 of the Employment Insurance Act. Employers must select the code that accurately reflects the actual reason to avoid making a false or misleading statement, which is an offence under section 39 of the Act.

The ROE Web electronic filing system, operated by Service Canada under Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), is available to all Canadian employers and is mandatory for employers who issue more than five ROEs per year under the Employment Insurance (ROE Web) Regulations. Electronic ROEs are transmitted directly to Service Canada's systems and appear immediately in the employee's My Service Canada Account, eliminating postal delays and reducing the risk of lost paper ROEs. Service Canada provides real-time validation of ROE data entered in ROE Web, alerting employers to inconsistencies before submission.

The Canada Labour Code (R.S.C. 1985, c. L-2) governs federally regulated employers — including banks, interprovincial transportation companies, and telecommunications carriers — while provincial employment standards legislation governs most other employers: Ontario's Employment Standards Act, 2000 (S.O. 2000, c. 41), British Columbia's Employment Standards Act (R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 113), Alberta's Employment Standards Code (R.S.A. 2000, c. E-9), and Quebec's Act Respecting Labour Standards (R.L.R.Q., c. N-1.1). The Canada Employment Insurance Commission, chaired by the Governor in Council, sets EI premium rates and the annual maximum insurable earnings annually. The Social Security Tribunal of Canada adjudicates EI appeals beyond the first-level reconsideration conducted by Service Canada. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) play no direct role in ROE administration. Forms-legal.com provides this Record of Employment (Canada) template covering the mandatory elements under section 19 of the Employment Insurance Regulations (SOR/96-332) and the Employment Insurance Act (S.C. 1996, c. 23).

A Canadian Record of Employment is needed whenever a Canadian employer's employee experiences an interruption of earnings — defined as seven or more consecutive calendar days without work and insurable earnings — regardless of the reason for the interruption or whether the employee intends to apply for Employment Insurance benefits.

Layoffs and workforce reductions — whether temporary due to seasonal slowdowns, shortage of work, or economic conditions, or permanent due to position elimination — require an ROE with Code A (Shortage of Work/End of Contract). Employers in seasonal industries such as construction, tourism, fishing, and agriculture issue ROEs at the end of each working season for all affected employees who will not return for seven or more consecutive calendar days.

Employee resignations and voluntary departures require an ROE with Code E (Quit). Even where the employer believes the resignation was voluntary without just cause — which may disqualify the claimant from regular EI benefits under section 29 of the Employment Insurance Act — the employer must still issue the ROE within the prescribed time. Service Canada determines EI eligibility independently; the ROE documents the facts but does not make the eligibility determination.

Terminations for cause require an ROE with Code F (Dismissal). Employers should note that Code F does not automatically disqualify the employee from EI — Service Canada's Investigation and Control units assess the termination circumstances to determine whether dismissal resulted from the employee's misconduct within the meaning of section 30 of the Employment Insurance Act. Employers must retain documentation supporting the termination decision in case Service Canada contacts them during the investigation.

Employee illness, injury, or disability — whether work-related (covered by provincial workers' compensation boards such as the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) in Ontario or WorkSafeBC) or non-work-related — requires an ROE with Code D (Illness or Injury) when the absence extends seven or more consecutive calendar days. Code D triggers the employee's eligibility to apply for EI sickness benefits of up to 26 weeks under section 12 of the Employment Insurance Act.

Pregnancy, parental, and family leave — including maternity leave before and after childbirth (Code P) and parental leave for both parents under the Employment Insurance Act and provincial employment standards legislation — require an ROE to be issued when the leave begins and the employee will not receive insurable earnings for seven or more days. EI maternity benefits cover up to 15 weeks; parental benefits cover up to 40 weeks (standard) or 69 weeks (extended) under Section 12 of the Employment Insurance Act (S.C. 1996, c. 23).

Section 19 of the Employment Insurance Regulations (SOR/96-332) establishes the five-day deadline for issuing ROEs. Section 39 of the Employment Insurance Act makes false or misleading statements an offence with penalties up to $5,000. Section 7 governs qualifying hours thresholds by regional unemployment rate. Section 29 governs disqualification for voluntary leaving without just cause; Section 30 governs disqualification for misconduct. The Canada Labour Code (R.S.C. 1985, c. L-2) Part III governs federally regulated employer obligations. Ontario's Employment Standards Act 2000 (S.O. 2000, c. 41) Section 53 governs termination notice requirements. The Social Security Tribunal of Canada adjudicates EI appeals. Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) administers the Employment Insurance program through Service Canada. Forms-legal.com provides this Record of Employment — ROE (Canada) template for documenting interruptions of earnings under the Employment Insurance Act.

A complete Canadian Record of Employment contains specific blocks of information required by the Employment Insurance Act, the Employment Insurance Regulations, and Service Canada's ROE processing standards.

Block 1 — Serial number is a pre-printed sequential number assigned to paper ROE forms by Service Canada supply. For electronic ROEs, the serial number is assigned automatically by ROE Web. The serial number uniquely identifies each ROE in Service Canada's system and is referenced when amending a previously issued ROE.

Block 2 — Employer's name, address, and payroll number identifies the employer by legal or trade name and mailing address, and states the employer's payroll account number (the RP program account number associated with the employer's CRA Business Number, e.g., 123456789 RP0001). The payroll account number links the ROE to the employer's CRA payroll remittance history.

Block 3 — Pay period type specifies whether the employer pays employees weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, monthly, or on another cycle. Service Canada uses this information to calculate insurable earnings by pay period for Block 15B.

Block 10 — First day worked and Block 11 — Last day for which paid confirm the employment period. Block 11 is the last day the employee received or will receive insurable earnings, which may differ from the last day physically worked if termination pay, vacation pay, or statutory notice pay is owed.

Block 15A — Total insurable hours is the sum of all hours worked in insurable employment during the reference period — generally the 52 weeks before the interruption. Hours include regular hours, overtime hours, vacation hours, statutory holiday hours, and banked time. Part-time employees who are paid a flat weekly salary regardless of hours worked are assigned the number of hours they would have worked for that salary based on the minimum wage in their province.

Block 15B — Total insurable earnings records the total insurable earnings paid in each of the last 27 pay periods (for weekly pay periods) or proportionately fewer periods for longer pay cycles, up to the annual maximum insurable earnings ceiling of $63,200 for 2024. Service Canada uses this block to calculate the employee's benefit rate — 55% of average insurable weekly earnings, to a maximum weekly benefit of $668 for 2024.

Block 16 — Reason for issuing this ROE carries the reason code (A through Z) classifying the interruption. Selecting the accurate code is a legal obligation under the Employment Insurance Act; a false or misleading code can expose the employer to penalties of up to $5,000 per offence under section 39 of the Act and may trigger a Service Canada compliance audit of the employer's payroll records.

Block 18 — Comments provides a free-text field for the employer to explain unusual circumstances — for example, pay in lieu of notice included in the final earnings, severance arrangements, vacation pay paid out separately, or a previous ROE that was issued in error. Detailed comments reduce Service Canada's need to contact the employer for clarification during the claimant's benefit processing.

Section 19 of the Employment Insurance Regulations (SOR/96-332) establishes the mandatory obligation to issue an ROE within five calendar days of an interruption of earnings. Section 29 of the Employment Insurance Act (S.C. 1996, c. 23) governs voluntary leaving without just cause; Section 30 governs misconduct disqualifications; Section 39 makes it an offence to make false or misleading statements on an ROE, with fines up to $5,000 per offence. Section 7(2) of the Employment Insurance Act sets the regional qualifying hours thresholds (420–700 hours). Section 12 of the Act governs the duration of regular, sickness, and parental benefits. Section 108 of the Employment Insurance Act designates Service Canada as the administering body. The Social Security Tribunal of Canada hears EI appeals under the Department of Employment and Social Development Act (S.C. 2005, c. 34) after the first-level reconsideration by Service Canada. The Canada Labour Code (R.S.C. 1985, c. L-2) governs federally regulated employers; Ontario's Employment Standards Act 2000 (S.O. 2000, c. 41), British Columbia's Employment Standards Act (R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 113), and Alberta's Employment Standards Code (R.S.A. 2000, c. E-9) govern provincial employers. The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA, S.C. 2000, c. 5) governs private-sector data handling. Forms-legal.com provides this Record of Employment — ROE (Canada) template covering the mandatory elements under Section 19 of the Employment Insurance Regulations (SOR/96-332) and the Employment Insurance Act (S.C. 1996, c. 23).