After you apply
Introducing the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program
The Workforce Retention and Retraining Program combines the Work-Sharing Program and the Retraining Grant (formerly the Worker Retention Grant) to help employers retain and retrain workers.
Special measures are extended to March 31, 2028, with expanded eligibility and program flexibilities. For more information visit Canada Strong: Government support programs for workers and businesses.
Service Canada will assess your application to make sure:
- it meets the eligibility criteria of the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing
- the employer statements are valid
- the employer has submitted all required documents and forms
Service Canada will acknowledge the receipt of the application.
A Program Officer will inform all parties regarding the status of the application. All decisions regarding the application being approved or not approved will be provided in writing.
The Program Officer will conduct a cost analysis (comparing the cost related to temporary layoffs and the cost of the proposed Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement). This analysis will establish the cost difference/effectiveness and will be one of the elements considered when assessing a Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing application. As well, the Program Officer will conduct a social/community impact assessment to determine the overall effect of the business on the community.
To recommend the application for approval, the Program Officer must conclude that:
- Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing is the appropriate program to address the work reduction
- there is a reasonable expectation, based on recovery measures outlined by the employer that all participating employees will return to normal working hours by the end of the agreement, and
- supporting information is on file to render the decision; an employer may be contacted by Service Canada to obtain additional information to make a decision on the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing application
Following the approval of the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement
In this section
- Employer and employee/union representative obligations
- Employment Insurance Work-Sharing benefits during the agreement
Employer and employee/union representative obligations
Signing the agreement
If your application for a Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement is approved, you'll be required to sign a Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement. By signing the agreement, all parties involved (employer, employer representative, employee representative and, if applicable, union representative, as well as Service Canada) agree to the information provided in the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing application and to the terms of the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement. They understand that deliberately giving false or misleading information for the purpose of entering into a Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement shall be subject to penalties as provided under the Employment Insurance Act.
In addition, the employer agrees to provide such documentation as may be required by the Canada Employment Insurance Commission. This includes copies of sales/production figures and payroll records, for purposes of verifying the information provided in the application and monitoring activities.
If you submitted your application in Grants and Contributions Online Services (GCOS)
After your application is approved, each representative will receive an email from the Department. This email will let them know that the agreement is ready to be signed electronically in GCOS.
For instructions on how to sign your agreement in GCOS, refer to the Grants and Contributions Online Services: User guide.
If you submitted a paper application by email or mail
Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work Sharing agreements must be signed in blue or black ink. Once all required signatures have been obtained, the employer must:
- scan the fully signed agreement to PDF, and
- email the PDF to the Service Canada Program Officer
The employer must retain the original signed document for 6 years after the agreement is terminated.
Note: The final Work-Sharing unit Attachment A form EMP5101 must list only the employees who are eligible and taking part in the agreement. Don't include employees who are on long-term leave, will be recalled later, or aren't eligible to participate.
Acceptable signature on the final Work-Sharing unit Attachment A form EMP5101
Wet signatures (signed in blue or black ink) of the employee or union representative are required. The final Attachment A listing eligible employees participating in the agreement scanned to PDF and returned by email to the Service Canada Program Officer. The employer must retain the original signed document for a period of 6 years after termination of the agreement.
Note: The final Attachment A won’t include any employees on long-term leave, employees to be recalled later or those who are ineligible employees.
Sign the agreement within 60 calendar days
A Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement must be signed within 60 calendar days from the date the application was approved by Service Canada.
If an agreement isn't signed within 60 calendar days of the approval date, it will be cancelled or withdrawn.
When a Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement is cancelled or withdrawn, and the employer wishes to participate in the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing, a new application must be submitted and approved.
Implement the signed agreement within 60 calendar days
To implement a signed Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement, all employees participating in the agreement must experience, during the same week, a minimum 10% reduction to their normal weekly earnings (also known as the interruption of earnings). The employer must advise their Service Canada Program Officer, in writing, of the week that implementation has or will occur.
When signed, a Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement must be implemented within 60 calendar days of the agreement’s signing date. If not implemented within 60 calendar days, the agreement will be withdrawn. Once an agreement is withdrawn, and the employer still wishes to participate in the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing, a new application must be submitted and approved.
List of employer obligations during the agreement
- Ensures information about the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement is accessible to all participating employees
- Identifies the participating employees included in the Work-Sharing unit(s). A Work-Sharing unit is a minimum of 2 or more eligible employees who agree to reduce their normal working hours and equitably share the available work
- Informs each participating employee of their determined normal weekly hours at the start of a Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement based on the regular pattern of work for each individual (over the previous 2 years) prior to any reduction in work hours
- Must securely submit to Employment Insurance (EI) an enrolment sheet that lists the participants in the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program – Work Sharing, their Social Insurance Numbers and their normal weekly hours of work. The enrolment sheet must be submitted via the Data Gateway or by courier immediately upon signing the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement
- Issue a record of employment for each employee participating in the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement. The record of employment should be issued after the employee has completed their last shift prior to starting their participation in the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing
- Ensures employees participating in Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing are promptly provided the “Applying for EI Work-Sharing Benefits” document valid for the week the employees started participating in the agreement and the region in which they're a participant. This document includes a reference code valid for the week the participating employees started on the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement. The reference code is only valid for the time period indicated on the document
- Ensures that a copy of the Employee annex is distributed to all employees participating
- Submit a weekly (Sunday to Saturday) utilization report for every week of the agreement including: weeks of shutdown, weeks with statutory holidays and weeks during which no hours are missed due to Work-Sharing
- The employer must maintain all existing employee benefits (for example, health/dental insurance, pension benefits, vacation, group disability, etc.) for the duration of the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement
- Maintain and retain records for each employee on Work-Sharing during the agreement, including hours worked each week (Sunday to Saturday), wages and any other remuneration paid to those employees each week for a period of 6 years beyond the termination of the agreement
- Make such records available, upon request, to Service Canada for the purpose of monitoring, inspection and/or audits to ensure compliance with all terms and conditions within the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement
- Implement recovery measures as noted in their Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing application and report progress of these recovery measures to Service Canada upon request
- Aren't authorized to add, remove or replace employees from the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing unit without prior consent from Service Canada. Employers must follow the process for making changes to a Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement, as these changes are an amendment to the agreement. Employers can't increase staff in their workforce during the agreement, but may replace employees who choose to leave (this constitutes an amendment to the agreement)
- For an employer with multiple departments, departments that aren’t participating in Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing may increase staff as required as these employees aren’t participating in the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement
- Advise in advance any changes to the employer, employee or union representative as this constitutes an amendment to the agreement
- Must advise Service Canada immediately in the event that the employer
- becomes bankrupt
- files a “notice of intention” to make a proposal under Part III of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) or files a proposal under that Part
- commences proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA)
- becomes subject to a receivership
- files articles of amalgamation pursuant to any corporate statute
- sells a controlling number of its shares
- sells all or substantially all of its asset, or
- has a change of ownership
List of employee/union representative obligations during the agreement
- Distribute a copy of the Employee annex to all employees participating in the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program – Work-Sharing agreement
- Ensure each employee receives the appropriate “Applying for EI Work-Sharing Benefits” document that includes the reference code valid for the week the employee starts participation in Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing
- Provide information for employees to know what to expect when participating in this agreement
- Informing employees of the requirements with respect to qualifying for EI Work-Sharing benefits
- Advise employees of the requirement to submit an application for EI Work-Sharing benefits using the reference code provided
- Advise the employees of the requirement to submit weekly claimant’s reports for EI Work-Sharing benefits unless exempted from the requirement to file weekly claimant’s reports by the commission
- Advise of the requirement that employees who wish to be exempted from filing weekly claimant’s reports for EI Work-Sharing benefits during the period of this agreement must either agree to the exemption when submitting their claim for EI benefits online or by telephone by calling EI
- Advise of the requirement with respect to the reporting of earnings from all sources so as to permit the calculation of the amount of EI Work-Sharing benefits payable to employees
- Ensure all employees added to this agreement at a later date are provided with the same information within this section
- Be responsible for employee needs and addressing any issues or concerns of the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing participants to the employer
- Agree to what is stipulated in the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing application and this agreement on behalf of the employees by authorizing both documents
- Agree to changes in any amendment request to this agreement including additions, removals and/or substitutions by authorizing the amendment request
Employment Insurance Work-Sharing benefits during the agreement
Employees applying for Employment Insurance Work-Sharing benefits
EI pays Work-Sharing benefits. To be payable, each individual employee must apply and qualify for EI. The EI application and eligibility information is available online at Employment Insurance benefits.
A Work-Sharing week is when an employee is required to work is paid and missed a minimum of 0.5 hours of Work-Sharing employment in a week. It isn’t enough that an employer pays an employee in the week; actual work must also be performed. Employees must remain available to the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing employer for any hours, up to the number of hours normally worked for the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing employer prior to the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement. If there is work available, the employees are expected to report for their normal shifts. If an employee could’ve worked but wasn’t available or declined to work these aren’t “hours missed” due to Work-Sharing.
The Employee annex details important information and instructions for all employees participating in Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing.
When employees apply for EI, they must enter a reference code to identify that they're a participant of a Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement. Their reference code will be on the “Applying for Employment Insurance Work-Sharing Benefits” document they received from their Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing employer representative or the employee/union representative. This document contains important information for employees in order for them to apply for benefits.
The reference code is time sensitive and is only valid during the dates listed on the “Applying for Employment Insurance Work-Sharing Benefits” document. Therefore, it's important that participating employees submit their EI application within this time frame.
Employees participating in Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing must qualify to receive EI benefits. An employee’s eligibility will be determined after the employee has filed for EI benefits. The employee doesn’t have to inform their employer of the status of their eligibility for EI benefits. Employees may refuse to be part of a Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement or may not be eligible for EI benefits. In either case, they’re required to reduce their hours of work on an equitable basis with employees who participate in the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement.
If an employee has questions about their claim for EI benefits, they must contact Employment Insurance.
Tax deductions for Work-Sharing benefits
EI Work-Sharing benefits are taxable. Federal and provincial or territorial taxes, where applicable, will be deducted from payments.
For more information, participating employees can review Employment Insurance and repayment of benefits at income tax time.
Waiting period for Work-Sharing benefits
The waiting period is deferred for Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing participants, until a week that isn't a Work-Sharing week is processed as a week of regular or special benefits. This could occur either during the period of the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement, or once the agreement has terminated.