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 all cases not covered in the above sections.
Block 6: The Pay Period Type
In this block, employers would need to enter the pay period type for the employee. It is worth mentioning that there are five standard types of pay periods such as:
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Weekly
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Biweekly
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Semi-monthly
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Monthly or,
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Thirteen pay periods in a year
In some cases, employers might find that their semi-monthly or monthly pay periods are non-standard. As such, such pay periods will probably not end on the fifteenth or last day of the month. In this scenario, the employers would need to enter ‘non-standard semi-monthly’ or ‘non-standard monthly’ in this block.
Special Situations
The authorities have prescribed certain ways for dealing with special situations. These situations would typically involve cases where:
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The employees would receive payments solely on commission or on salary plus irregularly paid commission
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In this scenario, the employers would need to use a weekly pay period
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In addition, they would need to average the earnings over the period of employment covered by the Record of Employment (ROE)
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For more details, employers would need to refer to the notes given in the section titled ‘How to Use the Weekly Averaging Formula’
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Contract workers do not receive payments on a regular basis
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In this scenario, the employers would need to use a weekly pay period
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In addition, they would need to average the earnings over the period of employment covered by the Record of Employment (ROE)
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For more details, employers would need to refer to the notes given in the section titled ‘How to Use the Weekly Averaging Formula’
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Employees work irregular pay periods
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Some employees might be working irregular pay periods
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In such cases, the pay cycles would typically vary in length, where one period could cover 29 days and the next could cover 32 days
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In this scenario, the employers would need to use a weekly pay period
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In addition, they would need to average the earnings over the period of employment covered by the Record of Employment (ROE)
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For more details, employers would need to refer to the notes given in the section titled ‘How to Use the Weekly Averaging Formula’
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Example: Consider a situation where Monica works for an employer that has irregular pay periods. In such a situation, one pay period could cover 25 days, the next could cover 29 days and another could cover 35 days. In this scenario, the employer would need to enter weekly as the pay period type in Block 6. Thereafter, the employer would need to average the earnings over the period of employment by using the weekly averaging formula.
Note:
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The authorities require that a Record of Employment (ROE) should reflect only one pay period type
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In some cases, the employer might need to change the pay period type during an employee’s period of employment
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In this scenario, the employer would need to issue the Record of Employment (ROE) for the period of employment up to the change in the pay period type
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Employers would need to issue a second Record of Employment (ROE) for the rest of the employee’s period of employment until the interruption of earnings in case an interruption of earnings occurs subsequently
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In the second Record of Employment (ROE), the employer would need to enter the date of the first day after the pay period change in Block 10
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Similarly, in the second Record of Employment (ROE), the employer would need to enter the date of the last day for which paid in Block 11
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Block 10: The First Day Worked
In Block 10, the employer would usually need to enter the employee’s first day of work for which the employee has received insurable earnings. In some cases though, the employer might have issued a Record of Employment (ROE) for the employee previously. In this scenario, the employer would need to enter the first day the employee worked after the last interruption of earnings in Block 10. This date would usually be the first day that the employee worked since the last Record of Employment (ROE) issued by the employer.
For instance, consider a situation where Bill began working for an employer in March 2015 as a landscaper. In November 2015, the employer completed the Record of Employment (ROE) for Bill as the employer closes the business each year for the winter months. On March 15, 2016, Bill returned to work for the same employer. As such, in November 2016, the employer would need to complete the latest Record of Employment (ROE) for Bill. Hence, the employer would need to specify 15 March, 2016, as the first day that Bill worked in Block 10.
Note:
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It is worth highlighting that the date the employer enters in Block 10 is not necessarily the day the employer hired the employee
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This is especially so unless the employee happened to work on that day
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As such, the first day worked would need to be a day when the employee worked and received insurable earnings
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In some cases, the employer might plan to pay the employee for a statutory holiday that occurs prior to the employee’s first day of work
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In this scenario, the employer would need to call the Employer Contact Centre at 1-800-367-5693 (TTY: 1-855-881-9874) to obtain additional details on how to report such incidents
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Block 11: The Last Day for Which Paid
The employers would need to enter the last day for which the employee received insurable earnings in Block 11. This date will usually coincide with the employee’s last day of work.
However, in some cases, employees could continue to receive insurable earnings even after their last day of work. This is typically the situation in case of paid leave comprising:
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Vacations
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Sick leave
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Earned days off or,
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Salary continuance (refer to the section titled ‘Salary Continuance’ that appears subsequently in this document)
In these situations, the employers would need to enter the date of the last day of paid leave in Block 11. However, they would need to ensure that this date is not a statutory holiday. For more details on the process for reporting statutory holidays, employers would need to go through ‘Block 17B: The Statutory Holiday Pay’ that appears subsequently in this document.
For instance, consider a situation where Martha, an employee, becomes ill and has to stop working for a while. Her last day of work was on May 07, 2015. She began receiving sick leave payments at this time. It is worth mentioning that the authorities consider these payments as insurable earnings. She received 10 paid sick days until May 21, 2015. When the employer completes Block 11 of Martha’s Record of Employment (ROE), the employer would put the date 21 May, 2015.
Note:
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In some cases, the employer might owe an employee unpaid wages on separation because of the employer’s bankruptcy, receivership or impending receivership
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In this scenario, the employer would need to enter the last day for which the employer owes these wages
For instance, consider a situation where several employees of a construction company receive a notice that informs them that they would be laid off on November 30. Their pay period is monthly. However, because of their employer’s bankruptcy, they do not receive their last pay cheque on November 30. In this scenario, the employer would need to enter 30 November as the last day for which paid in Block 11. This is applicable even though the employer has not paid these employees for their last month of work.
The Salary Continuance
Salary continuances could well form part of a severance package. In this scenario, the employer would pay the employee a salary continuance instead of a lump-sum payment on separation. Under a salary continuance, the employee would continue to receive a regular pay cheque. In addition, the employee would continue to remain entitled for receiving the employee benefits for a specific time period. It is worth mentioning that there is no interruption of earnings between the last day worked and the beginning of the salary continuance. In fact, until the salary continuance ceases, there will be no interruption of earnings. For this reason, the employer would not be able to issue the Record of Employment (ROE) until the end of the salary continuance period. In Block 11, the employer would need to enter the last day of the salary continuance period and not the last day worked.
Some employers might have questions on what a salary continuance typically constitutes. In this scenario, they would need to contact the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).