This section provides information to employers on the way they would need to complete certain blocks on the Record of Employment (ROE). This information pertains to commission salespeople.
Who is a Commission Salesperson?
In the view of the authorities, a commission salesperson is an employee who receives payment either solely on commission. Alternatively, a commission salesperson could receive payment through a combination of a salary and irregularly paid commissions.
When Does an Interruption of Earnings Occur for a Commission Salesperson?
The authorities have specified that an interruption of earnings only occurs when the contract of employment for a commission salesperson is terminated. This is applicable unless the commission salesperson stops working because of:
- Illness
- Injury
- Quarantine
- Pregnancy
- The need to care for a newborn or a child placed for the purposes of adoption
- The need to provide care or support to a family member who is gravely ill with a significant risk of death or,
- The need for a parent to care for a critically ill child
Therefore, if the commission salesperson stops working for any other reason, the authorities would not consider them as having experienced an interruption of earnings as long as the contract continues.
Block 6: The Pay Period Type
In Block 6, the employers would need to enter ‘Weekly’ as the pay period type.
Block 10: The First Day Worked
In this block, the employers would need to enter the employment start date. In some cases, the employers might find that the employee previously experienced an interruption of earnings during this period of employment. As such, it is likely that the employers might have issued the Record of Employment (ROE) to this employee. In this scenario, the employers would need to enter the first day the employee returned to work after they had issued the previous Record of Employment (ROE).
Block 11: The Last Day for Which Paid
In Block 11, the employer would need to enter the employment end date. Alternatively, the employer would need to enter the last day of insurable employment. This is especially so in case the employer is issuing the Record of Employment (ROE) for another reason (such as maternity leave) that begins before the end of the contract.
Block 12: The Final Pay Period Ending Date
In Block 12, the employer would need to enter the date of the Saturday of the week in which the date the employer has specified in Block 11 falls.
Block 15A: The Total Insurable Hours
In some cases, the employer might be aware of the number of hours that the commission salesperson actually worked for. As such, the employer will probably be aware of the amount that the commission salesperson received for the hours worked. In this scenario, the authorities would consider the hours that the commission salesperson worked for to be insurable hours. For instance, consider a situation where a commission salesperson has an employment contract. The contract specifies 32 hours as the usual hours of work per week. In this case, the employer would need to credit the commission salesperson with 32 insurable hours per week.
In some cases, the employer might not be aware of the actual number of hours worked. In this case, the employer and the commission salesperson would need to reach an agreement on the number of insurable hours that the worker would normally have required to put in for earning the remuneration paid. It is worth mentioning that the hours agreed upon would need to be reasonable given the circumstances of the employment.
However, it is possible that in some cases no contract or agreement on hours exists. In addition, it is possible that the employer and the commission salesperson might not be able to reach an agreement on the contract or hours. In this case, employers would need to determine the number of insurable hours by dividing the insurable earnings by the applicable minimum wage for the province or territory where the employee is working. It is worth mentioning that the applicable minimum wage for the province or territory would need to be in force as on January 01 in the year the earnings were payable. It is also worth highlighting that the result cannot be more than seven hours per day or 35 hours per week.
Block 15B: The Total Insurable Earnings
Employers would need to determine the amount that they would need to enter in Block 15B for commission salespersons. For this, they would need to calculate the average weekly earnings the commission salesperson received. They would need to use the weekly averaging formula for accomplishing this. Once they have calculated the average weekly earnings, they would need to multiply the amount obtained by 27 (or less in case the period of employment is shorter than 27 weeks). Lastly, the employers would need to add any insurable amounts the commission salesperson received on account of the separation. For more details on this, the employers would need to go through ‘Block 17: The Separation Payments’. The amount resulting from these calculations is the commission salesperson’s total insurable earnings.
Block 15C: The Insurable Earnings by Pay Period
For commission salespersons, employers would only need to complete Block 15C if they are issuing the Record of Employment (ROE) electronically. For completing Block 15C, employers would need to use the average weekly earnings amount they calculated for Block 15B. This would enable them to complete all the applicable pay period fields in Block 15C, with the sole exception of PP 1 (the final pay period). In the PP 1 field, the employers would need to add any insurable amounts that the commission salespersons received because of the separation to the average weekly earnings amount.