Block 18: The Comments
In Block 18, the employer would need to enter any specific details about exceptional circumstances that the employer might want to communicate to Service Canada. This would be useful for helping clarify any information specified on the Record of Employment (ROE). This would be useful in preventing subsequent phone calls from Service Canada agents.
It is not necessary for employers to reiterate information that they have already provided on the form in Block 18. For instance, if the employer has entered Code A in Block 16, the employer does not need to enter a comment in Block 18 such as ‘Temporary shutdown of operations’ or ‘Employee layoff’.
Note:
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Over the last few years, the authorities have automated the manner in which the officers process Records of Employment (ROEs)
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As such, when employers enter a comment in Block 18 in this technological environment, the system removes the Record of Employment (ROE) from the automated processing system and a Service Canada agent has to review it manually
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This review will result in slowing the process down, with the agent occasionally needing to call the employer for various clarifications
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For this reason, employers should now only enter comments in Block 18 in exceptional circumstances
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It is worth highlighting that employers should not include comments that only confirm information that they have already entered on the form
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Employers would need to go through the tables at Block 16 – Reason for Issuing this Record of Employment (ROE), Block 17A – Vacation Pay and Block 17C – Other Monies for details on the types of comments that they need to enter in Block 18
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Block 19: Paid Sick / Maternity / Parental / Compassionate Care / Parents of Critically Ill Children Leave or Group Wage Loss Indemnity Payment
Employers would only need to complete Block 19 if the employee received any insurable sick leave, maternity leave, parental leave, compassionate care leave, parents of critically ill children leave or group wage loss insurance payments from the employer. Similarly, employers would only need to complete Block 19 if the employee is receiving any group wage loss indemnity plan payments from a third party.
Note:
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Employers would not need to complete the Record of Employment (ROE) until after the payments are exhausted in case their employees are receiving insurable sick leave, maternity leave, parental leave, compassionate care leave, parents of critically ill children leave payments from them
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In this situation, the employers would need to consider the last date to which these payments apply to be the last day for which paid
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As such, employers would need to enter this date in Block 11
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Situations could arise where employees receive wage loss payments from either the employer or a third party
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In this case, the employers would need to complete the Record of Employment (ROE) after the employee’s last day of work before the wage loss payments start
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In case the wage loss payments are insurable, the employers would need to complete another Record of Employment (ROE) for the period during which the employee received the wage loss payments
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The Types of Paid Sick / Maternity / Parental / Compassionate Care / Parents of Critically Ill Children Leave and the Manner in Which Employers Would Need to Document this on a Record of Employment (ROE) | ||
The Type of Payment or Benefit | The Description | The Information to Enter in Block 17C |
Insurable Sick Leave Paid by the Employer (Paid Sick Leave) | This refers to insurable sick leave payments from the employer. This indicates that Employment Insurance (EI) premiums have been deducted. | The employer would need to enter the first day the employer paid sick leave in the ‘Payment Start Date’ box. In the ‘Amount’ box, the employer would need to enter the amount the employee was receiving. This could be the amount per day or the amount per week. Employers would need to ensure that they check off the ‘Per day’ or ‘Per week’ box as appropriate. In case the amount varies each week, they would need to enter an average or estimated amount. Then, they would need to explain in Block 18 that the amount is either an average or an estimate. Note: Employers would need to ensure that they enter the last day the employee receives the sick leave payments in the date they enter in Block 11. In addition, the employers would need to include both the insurable hours and the insurable earnings in Blocks 15A, 15B and 15C. This is because these payments are insurable. |
Insurable Maternity, Parental, Compassionate Care or Parents of Critically Ill Children Leave Paid by the Employer (Not an Employer Paid Top-up) | For maternity, parental, compassionate care or parents of critically ill children leave payments, the employer typically pays at the rate of 100 percent of the regular earnings, after the employee stops working. This indicates that Employment Insurance (EI) premiums have been deducted. In addition, the authorities consider such payments as being insurable earnings. Note: It is worth mentioning that this type of payment does not include supplements or top-ups to the employee’s Employment Insurance (EI) benefits. Employers would typically need to report top-up payments in Block 17C. | The employer would need to enter the first day the employer paid the maternity, parental, compassionate care or parents of critically ill children leave payments in the ‘Payment Start Date’ box. In the ‘Amount’ box, the employer would need to enter the amount the employee was receiving. This could be the amount per day or the amount per week. Employers would need to ensure that they check off the ‘Per day’ or ‘Per week’ box as appropriate. In case the amount varies each week, they would need to enter an average or estimated amount. Then, they would need to explain in Block 18 that the amount is either an average or an estimate. Note: Employers would need to ensure that they enter the last day the employee receives the maternity, parental, compassionate care or parents of critically ill children leave payments in the date they enter in Block 11. In addition, the employers would need to include both the insurable hours and the insurable earnings in Blocks 15A, 15B and 15C. This is because these payments are insurable. |
Insurable Wage Loss Insurance (WLI) Plan Payments | In these payments, the employer typically pays after the employee stops working. This indicates that Employment Insurance (EI) premiums have been deducted. | The employer would need to enter the first day the employer paid the Wage Loss Insurance (WLI) plan payments in the ‘Payment Start Date’ box. In the ‘Amount’ box, the employer would need to enter the amount the employee was receiving. This could be the amount per day or the amount per week. Employers would need to ensure that they check off the ‘Per day’ or ‘Per week’ box as appropriate. In case the amount varies each week, they would need to enter an average or estimated amount. Then, they would need to explain in Block 18 that the amount is either an average or an estimate. Note: Employers would need to ensure that they enter the last day the employee receives the Wage Loss Insurance (WLI) plan payments in the date they enter in Block 11. In addition, the employers would need to include both the insurable hours and the insurable earnings in Blocks 15A, 15B and 15C. This is because these payments are insurable. |
Non-insurable Wage Loss Insurance (WLI) Plan Payments | In these payments, a third party usually makes the payments to the employee, once the employee stops working. The Employment Insurance (EI) premiums are not deducted. As such, the authorities do not consider such payments as insurable earnings. In many cases, the employers will not be aware of the details of these plans. | The employer would need to enter the first day the third party paid the Wage Loss Insurance (WLI) plan payments in the ‘Payment Start Date’ box. In the ‘Amount’ box, the employer would need to enter the amount the employee was receiving. This could be the amount per day or the amount per week. In case employers are not aware of the exact amount, they would need to enter an approximate amount. Thereafter, they would need to indicate that the amount is an approximate in Block 18. Employers would need to ensure that they check off the ‘Per day’ or ‘Per week’ box as appropriate. Note: Employers would need to ensure that they enter the last day the employee worked for the employer before the employee began receiving the Wage Loss Insurance (WLI) plan payments in the date they enter in Block 11. In addition, the employers would not need to include both the insurable hours and the insurable earnings in Blocks 15A, 15B and 15C. This is because these payments are not insurable. |
Block 20: The Language
In this block, the employers would need to indicate whether they prefer communicating in English or in French.
Block 21: The Telephone Number of the Issuer
In this block, the employers would need to enter the entire 10-digit telephone number of the person who will be able to answer questions from Service Canada. These questions would typically pertain to the information entered on the Record of Employment (ROE).
Block 22: The Certification
In this block, the person completing the Record of Employment (ROE) would need to certify that the information specified on the Record of Employment (ROE) is correct.