Employers all around Canada are required to complete ROEs as part of their regular payroll duties. It can occasionally be challenging to traverse the topic of ROEs and comprehend the complexity surrounding them, whether you are an employer or an employee. Problems with ROEs can result in fraud, severe financial fines, or delays in receiving benefits if they are not properly understood.
Canada’s Record of Employment (ROE) Services
To address all of your inquiries concerning employment records in Canada, let’s examine ROEs more closely from the perspectives of employers and employees.
What Is the Meaning of ROE?
Record of Employment, or ROE. Employers submit this form to the federal government of Canada in order to report a break in an employee’s income, which includes information on wages, hours worked, and duration of employment.
It is especially crucial for employees to obtain a ROE when submitting an application for employment insurance (EI) benefits.
A Record of Employment: What Is It?
More precisely, a ROE is a form or record that businesses provide to employees who have a break in their job’s insurable wages. This may be the result of an injury, long-term or maternity leave, business closure, layoffs, dismissals, or a variety of other particular circumstances.
As soon as an employee encounters this disruption in their work, the employer is required by the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) to provide a ROE within the allotted timeframe. This document pertains to the federal government and is consistent throughout all provinces.
An electronic ROE or a paper record of employment are the options available. Issuing a digital record of employment through the ROE web service is always advised. There are several advantages to this for the company as well as the employee.
A worker cannot receive EI compensation if their prior 52 weeks of employment’s precise ROEs are not provided. If an employee fails to submit their ROEs on time or accurately, they may be penalized financially. Because of this, it is crucial for employers to issue ROEs accurately and on schedule.
An ROE Form: What Is It?
A ROE form can be completed on paper or electronically using the Service Canada ROE web services page. The format, fillable sections, and instructions for completing the ROE are the same whether it is an electronic or physical copy.
How Does a ROE Appear?
An ROE resembles a lot of other paperwork from Service Canada or the CRA. It is arranged into “blocks,” each of which has important details on an employee’s time, hours, and pay at the organization. There are a total of 22 blocks with information regarding:
- Personal and identifiable information about the employee
- The duration of work details
- The employee’s insurable hours worked and their insurable income
- When they are paid
- A Reference Number and the Business Number of the organization
- The ROE code (cause for dismissal)
While it may not be necessary to complete every block, it is crucial for an employer to do so in order to prevent Service Canada from contacting them with further questions or clarifications after the ROE is issued.
Visit the Service Canada website for a comprehensive tutorial on the ROE form’s blocks.
What Is the ROE Meaning of a Dismissal?
Employers are required to select a ROE code while completing a ROE in order to provide an explanation for any earnings interruptions. Among the most popular codes are the following:
- Code A – shortage of work (layoff) – used in company restructuring, temporary contracts, or a company shut down
- Code D – illness or injury
- Code E – quitting
- Code F – maternity
- Code M – dismissal
When an employee is fired for a cause other than a layoff or required retirement, the ROE should use dismissal, or Code M. This phrase ought to be reserved for situations in which an employee is fired for good reason. When choosing to terminate an employee on a ROE, employers must exercise caution. In certain cases, further proof will be required, particularly if the employee contests the decision.
However, an employer must always tell the truth, and even if the employee’s relationship did not end badly, they should use Code M, dismissal, if the person was fired for good reason.
Where to Find an Employment Record
Your employer is in charge of providing your ROE in the event of a qualifying interruption of wages. It is not necessary for an employee to ask for it directly. An employee can receive a record of employment in one of two ways:
- A paper copy
- An electronic copy
An electronic ROE completed by your employer will be forwarded straight to Service Canada. They are under no need to furnish you with a copy, though they might as a favor. You can use Service Canada’s My Account to view your ROE remotely.
If your employer gives you a paper ROE form, they also need to send a hard copy to Service Canada and give you a hard copy. To apply for EI benefits, you can save your paper ROE for your records or as needed.
When to Release a ROE
It might be difficult for an employer to know when to provide a ROE.
Every time your employee has a disruption in their insurable wages or whenever Service Canada demands one, you, as their employer, must issue a ROE, regardless of whether they wish or need to claim for EI payments.
This is what happens when an employee quits, gets fired, or is otherwise laid off in many straightforward circumstances. The relationship has ended, they will not be paid by the company going forward, and a ROE has been issued.
According to Service Canada’s definition, an interruption of earnings also occurs when an employee misses seven consecutive calendar days of work and insurable earnings, or when their compensation falls short of 60% of their typical weekly earnings for any of the following reasons:
- illness, injury, or quarantine
- pregnancy or caring for a newborn or recently adopted child
- caring for a gravely ill family member
For instance, a simple administrative matter like your business switching payroll providers and “skipping” a pay week may be sufficient justification for issuing ROEs to every employee.
It might be challenging to determine when an employer is required to provide a ROE. Working with an experienced payroll team is usually advised to make sure you are fulfilling your ROE obligations.
Where to Find ROE Forms on Paper
You must obtain blank ROE forms by placing an order with the government if you are still utilizing paper forms. For identification purposes, get in touch with the Employer Contact Center and provide them your CRA payroll account number.
Please be aware that it is your responsibility to keep your blank ROE forms on paper secure. If its security is breached, this may give rise to liability problems. If you are still obtaining and completing ROE forms on paper, you might want to think about moving to the CRA’s online ROE web services.
Where to Forward ROE?
If the ROE is to be submitted online, the employer has the option of providing the worker with a paper copy of the document even though doing so is not required. Because the electronic ROE is submitted directly to Service Canada via electronic transmission, there is no requirement in this scenario for either the employee or the employer to send a paper ROE through the mail.
If an employer chooses to supply employees with paper ROE forms, they are required to both transmit a hard copy of the form to Service Canada and give a copy of the form to the employee. The difference is readily apparent on the ROE form; the serial number of an electronic ROE begins with W or S, whereas the serial number of a paper copy begins with A, E, K, L, or Z. This distinction may be recognized right away.
You have the option of either mailing your ROE to Service Canada or delivering it in person to a Service Canada Center in this scenario. When you make a virtual application for employment insurance, the address where you should send your ROE to be processed by Service Canada will be displayed on the screen that confirms and provides information about your application.
Ask the Experts for Individualized ROE Assistance
Depending on your particular situation, figuring out where to obtain a record of employment or when to issue a ROE can be difficult.
If you are an employee having trouble understanding the codes or finding your ROE, you can receive assistance from your accountant or find out what your alternatives are by getting in touch with Service Canada.
The staff at Numetrica can assist you with outsourced payroll services if you are a business owner and are unclear about when or where to submit ROE documents.
Businesses and people alike can benefit from Numetrica’s services for accounting, payroll, and employment records. Get in touch with us right now to find out more about how we can assist you with handling your payroll and tax responsibilities, ROEs, and employment income.