Record of Employment (ROE) in 2026: When to Issue It, Deadlines, Reason Codes and ROE Web

The Record of Employment, or ROE, is the form Service Canada uses to decide whether a former or absent employee qualifies for Employment Insurance and how much they get. Every Canadian employer that pays insurable earnings has to issue one when an employee stops working or their earnings drop — and the deadline is short. This guide is for small business owners and payroll staff issuing ROEs in 2026: when an ROE is required, the deadlines for each pay cycle, how ROE Web works, which reason code to use, what goes in each key block, the penalties, and worked deadline examples.

Quick answer

Issue an ROE every time an employee has an interruption of earnings — usually 7 consecutive calendar days with no work and no insurable earnings — or when Service Canada asks. Filed electronically through ROE Web, it's due 5 calendar days after the end of the pay period in which the interruption occurs (weekly, biweekly or semi-monthly pay). Employees see it in My Service Canada Account; you don't mail them a copy.

• Monthly or 13-period pay: the earlier of 5 days after the pay period or 15 calendar days after the first day of the interruption

• Sick, maternity, parental or caregiver leave: issue when weekly earnings fall below 60% of regular weekly earnings

• Use the right reason code — E for quit, M for dismissal, A for layoff

• Keep ROE payroll records for 6 years

• False ROEs can cost up to C$12,000 per penalty

What a Record of Employment is

An ROE is a federal form under the Employment Insurance Act and its regulations. It records the employee's insurable hours and insurable earnings, the dates they worked, why they stopped, and any final payments such as vacation pay. Service Canada uses it to decide whether the person has enough insurable hours to qualify for EI regular or special benefits, to calculate the benefit rate, and to check the reason for separation.

It doesn't matter whether the employee says they won't claim EI, whether they're part-time or casual, or whether they were with you for only a few weeks. If they had insurable earnings and an interruption happens, you issue the ROE. Service Canada keeps ROEs for 11 years, so an ROE you file today might be used for a claim years later.

ROEs are separate from your CRA payroll obligations. You still report the year's income on the T4 slip and remit source deductions to the CRA; the ROE goes to Service Canada and deals only with EI eligibility.

When you must issue an ROE

There are three triggers.

1. A standard interruption of earnings. This happens when an employee has, or will have, 7 consecutive calendar days with no work and no insurable earnings from you. Layoffs, quits, dismissals, the end of a contract or season, and unpaid leaves all create one once the seven-day gap occurs. In practice, a resignation, dismissal or permanent layoff will always produce that gap, so treat the last day for which the employee was paid as the end point and plan the ROE into the final pay run.

2. A drop in earnings during certain leaves. For employees on sick, maternity, parental, compassionate care or family caregiver leave, an interruption occurs when their earnings fall below 60% of regular weekly earnings for the week. The first day of the interruption is the Sunday of that week. Payments under a wage-loss insurance plan starting also count as an interruption.

3. A request from Service Canada. Service Canada can ask you for an ROE at any time — for example, when an employee has applied for EI and theirs is missing. Respond by the deadline in the request.

Here's how the 60% rule works in practice. A Winnipeg technician normally earns C$1,000 a week. She goes on sick leave, and your short-term disability top-up pays her C$500 a week — below C$600, which is 60% of her regular weekly earnings. That week is an interruption of earnings, its first day is the Sunday of that week, and her ROE uses code D. If you kept paying her C$700 a week, there would be no interruption and no ROE yet, even though she isn't working.

Each interruption needs its own ROE. A seasonal worker laid off twice in a year gets two, one for each period of work.

ROE deadlines by pay cycle

The deadline depends on whether you file electronically or on paper, and for electronic ROEs, on your pay cycle.

When the ROE is due

How you file	Pay cycle	Deadline
Electronic (ROE Web or SAT)	Weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly	5 calendar days after the end of the pay period in which the interruption occurs
Electronic (ROE Web or SAT)	Monthly or 13 pay periods a year	Earlier of 5 days after the pay period ends, or 15 days after the first day of the interruption
Paper	Any	5 calendar days after the first day of the interruption, or after you become aware of it

Electronic (ROE Web or SAT)

Pay cycle

Weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly

Deadline

5 calendar days after the end of the pay period in which the interruption occurs

Electronic (ROE Web or SAT)

Pay cycle

Monthly or 13 pay periods a year

Deadline

Earlier of 5 days after the pay period ends, or 15 days after the first day of the interruption

Paper

Pay cycle

Any

Deadline

5 calendar days after the first day of the interruption, or after you become aware of it

The electronic rule is the more generous one for most employers, because the clock starts at the end of the pay period, not on the employee's last day. It lets you issue the ROE as part of the final pay run, once you know the final hours, vacation pay and any other monies. The cap for monthly and 13-period payrolls exists so that an employee laid off on the first day of a long pay period isn't left waiting a month.

Worked deadline examples (2026 dates)

Weekly pay. A Hamilton retail worker is laid off; his last day worked is Wednesday, 30 September 2026. Your weekly pay period runs Sunday to Saturday and ends on Saturday, 3 October. The electronic ROE is due by Thursday, 8 October 2026 — five calendar days after the end of the pay period.

Biweekly pay. A Calgary labourer quits on Friday, 9 October 2026. The biweekly pay period ends on Saturday, 17 October, so the ROE is due by Thursday, 22 October 2026.

Monthly pay. A Montreal office employee's last day is Wednesday, 30 September 2026, so the interruption starts on Thursday, 1 October. The monthly pay period ends on 31 October, which would give 5 November — but 15 days after the first day of the interruption is Friday, 16 October 2026. The earlier date applies. (Service Canada's guide uses the same logic: an interruption starting 1 March gives a 16 March deadline.)

Paper ROE. If the Hamilton employer above used a paper form, it would be due five calendar days after the first day of the interruption — Tuesday, 6 October 2026 — two days earlier than the electronic deadline.

How to issue an ROE through ROE Web

Most small employers use ROE Web, Service Canada's free online portal. Larger employers with their own payroll systems may use ROE Secure Automated Transfer (ROE SAT), which sends ROEs directly from payroll software built to Service Canada's specifications. Paper forms still exist, but you must order them from the Employer Contact Centre, and Service Canada no longer accepts orders by fax or mail.

Issuing an ROE online

1. 1

   Register for ROE Web

   Sign in with a GCKey or through a Canadian bank that is a Sign-In Partner, then create your ROE Web account for your business.

   Access ROE Web
2. 2

   Gather the payroll data

   First day worked, last day for which paid, pay period type, insurable hours, insurable earnings for each pay period, and any vacation pay, holiday pay or other monies paid on separation.

3. 3

   Create the ROE

   Key it in, or upload a payroll extract file from your payroll software — up to 1,200 ROEs at once.

4. 4

   Choose the reason code and add comments

   Pick the code that matches why the employee stopped working. Add comments only where they help Service Canada understand the case.

5. 5

   Submit and keep the record

   ROE Web assigns a serial number starting with W or M. Keep the payroll data behind it for 6 years.

Payroll providers often submit ROEs for you, but the legal obligation stays with the employer. If you use one, check that its final pay run and ROE submission fall inside your deadline, especially for monthly payrolls.

An electronic ROE goes straight to Service Canada, and the employee can view and print it in My Service Canada Account. You don't need to give them a paper copy. With a paper ROE, the first copy goes to the employee, and you keep your copy securely for six years.

Reason for issuing (Block 16 codes)

The reason code is the most scrutinized field on the form, because it can decide whether the employee qualifies for regular EI benefits at all. A quit without just cause or a dismissal for misconduct can disqualify someone; a layoff doesn't. Service Canada makes the final decision after hearing from both sides, but the code you choose starts the process.

Code C is being phased out; Service Canada tells employers to use E or J instead. Use K only when none of the others fits and explain it in the comments. If the employee was dismissed, code M is correct even if you'd prefer not to get involved in their EI claim — Service Canada will contact both of you to decide whether the dismissal was for misconduct.

The blocks that cause the most errors

Pay period type. There are five standard types — weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, monthly and 13 per year. Employees paid only by commission, paid irregularly or on irregular cycles are reported as weekly, using Service Canada's weekly averaging formula.

Block 15A — insurable hours. Report the hours actually worked and paid, including paid leave. For commission salespeople and others whose hours aren't tracked, the parties can agree on a reasonable number. If they can't, the hours are worked out by dividing earnings by the provincial or territorial minimum wage in force on 1 January, capped at seven hours a day or 35 a week. For example, an Ontario commission salesperson with untracked hours who earned C$900 in a week would be credited with 35 hours, because C$900 divided by the C$17.60 an hour minimum wage in force on 1 January 2026 comes to about 51 hours, above the weekly cap.

Block 15C — insurable earnings by pay period. Electronic ROEs must give up to 53 weeks' worth of pay-period earnings: 27 periods for biweekly pay, 25 for semi-monthly, 13 for monthly and 14 for 13-period payrolls. Service Canada uses these to find the employee's best weeks of earnings — between 14 and 22 weeks, depending on the regional unemployment rate — so a missing or zero period can lower their benefit.

Block 17 — other payments. Vacation pay goes in 17A, statutory holiday pay in 17B, and other monies such as top-ups, retiring allowances or pay in lieu of notice in 17C. Vacation pay paid on separation is also added to the insurable earnings. For example, an Ontario employee who quits having earned C$24,500 in the vacation year is owed C$980 in vacation pay; that C$980 is reported on the ROE.

Amendments. If you find a mistake, amend the ROE in ROE Web rather than issuing a new one. An amended ROE replaces the original in full, so it must include all the correct information, not just the changes.

Penalties for late, missing or false ROEs

The Employment Insurance Act treats a misleading ROE as a serious matter. Service Canada's guide warns that knowingly entering a false reason for separation may lead to fines or prosecution.

EI Act penalties for employers

C$4,000

Maximum s.39(4) penalty, first false ROE

C$8,000 second

C$12,000

Maximum s.39(4) penalty, third or later

3×–9×

Maximum weekly EI benefit rate per misrepresentation

s.39(2)

C$2,000

Maximum fine for contravening the Act or regulations

s.137, or up to 6 months

Administrative penalties (section 39). Service Canada's Digest of Benefit Entitlement Principles describes two levels. The higher one, under section 39(4), applies to false ROEs: issuing one when no job existed, inflating insurable hours, issuing one when there was no interruption, or coding a quit or dismissal as a layoff. The maximum is C$4,000 for a first case, C$8,000 for a second and C$12,000 for a third or later, reduced by any mitigating circumstances. Other misrepresentations, such as altering hours or earnings on a genuine ROE, fall under section 39(2) and are calculated as three, six or nine times the maximum weekly EI benefit rate in effect at the time. Directors, officers and agents can be penalized as well as the business.

Prosecution (sections 135 to 137). Knowingly giving false or misleading information is an offence punishable by a fine of C$200 to C$5,000 and, where benefits were paid as a result, up to double that amount, with up to six months in prison. Simply failing to issue an ROE as the regulations require is a contravention under section 136; where no specific penalty applies, section 137 sets a fine of C$100 to C$2,000, up to six months' imprisonment, or both.

In practice, the most common consequence of a late or missing ROE is a delayed EI claim and a call from Service Canada. But a pattern of late filing, or a reason code that doesn't match the facts, invites an investigation.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Waiting for the employee to ask. The obligation runs from the interruption, not from a request. Build the ROE into your offboarding checklist and your final pay run.

Coding to "help" the employee. Recording a quit as a shortage of work is exactly the misrepresentation section 39(4) targets. Use the true reason and let Service Canada assess the claim.

Missing pay periods. Leaving gaps or zeros in Block 15C for weeks the employee actually worked can reduce their benefit and draw a request for an amended ROE.

Forgetting leave-related ROEs. An employee starting maternity or sick leave needs an ROE once their earnings drop below 60%, even though they still work for you.

Not issuing for short-term staff. A student who worked six weeks over the summer still needs an ROE when the job ends.

ROE offboarding checklist

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• Confirm the last day for which the employee was paid
• Work out the deadline from your pay cycle
• Run final pay including vacation pay and any holiday pay owed
• Pull insurable hours and earnings for up to 53 weeks
• Choose the correct reason code (Block 16)
• Enter vacation pay, holiday pay and other monies in Block 17
• Submit through ROE Web or your payroll provider and note the serial number
• Keep the payroll records for 6 years

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If you need a copy of an ROE you issued

ROEs you submitted electronically can be viewed in ROE Web. For older or paper ROEs, Service Canada will provide copies on a written request by mail or fax that includes your business name, address and phone number, your 15-character payroll account number, each employee's name and Social Insurance Number, the years requested, the reason and your signature. Requests go to Service Canada, PO Box 14000, Bathurst NB E2A 5A3, or by fax to 506-548-7149.

Official links

• Service Canada — How to complete the ROE formFull block-by-block guide and deadlines
• Record of Employment — employersROE Web, SAT, paper forms, copies
• Access ROE WebGCKey or Sign-In Partner login
• Employer penalties (EI Digest, chapter 18)Section 39 penalties
• Employment Insurance ActOffences and punishment, ss.135–137

What to do next

If you don't yet have a ROE Web account, set one up now — it takes longer than the five-day deadline allows if you wait for your first layoff. Make sure your final pay run includes all vacation pay and holiday pay owed, then issue the ROE from the same figures. For year-end, the same employee will still need a T4 slip, and our payroll deductions guide covers the CPP and EI on their final pay. Produce a clear final pay stub with our salary slip generator.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

How long does an employer have to issue a Record of Employment?

For an electronic ROE with weekly, biweekly or semi-monthly pay, 5 calendar days after the end of the pay period in which the interruption occurs. For monthly or 13-period pay, it's the earlier of five days after the pay period ends or 15 calendar days after the first day of the interruption. A paper ROE is due within five calendar days of the first day of the interruption or the day you learn of it.

When do I have to issue an ROE?

Whenever an employee has an interruption of earnings — normally 7 consecutive calendar days with no work and no insurable earnings from you — and whenever Service Canada asks for one. For sick, maternity, parental or caregiver leave, it's when weekly earnings fall below 60% of regular weekly earnings. Issue it whether or not the employee plans to claim EI.

Do I have to give the employee a copy of the ROE?

Not if you file electronically through ROE Web or ROE SAT. Service Canada receives it directly and the employee can view or print it in My Service Canada Account. If you use a paper ROE, the first copy goes to the employee as proof of their insurable earnings.

What ROE code do I use for a resignation or a firing?

Use code E for a quit and code M for a dismissal or suspension. Code A is for a shortage of work or layoff, D for illness or injury, F for maternity, P for parental, N for a leave of absence and G for retirement. Code K is for exceptional cases only, and code C is being phased out. Never code a quit or dismissal as a layoff.

What happens if an employer doesn't issue an ROE or puts false information on it?

False or misleading ROEs can draw an administrative penalty under the Employment Insurance Act of up to C$4,000 for a first case and C$12,000 for a third, or prosecution. Failing to issue a required ROE contravenes the EI regulations; the general fine is C$100 to C$2,000, up to six months in prison, or both.

How does an employee get their ROE?

Employees whose ROE was filed electronically can see it in My Service Canada Account within a few days of submission. Service Canada also receives it automatically for any EI claim. Employers don't need to mail a copy. If an ROE is missing, the employee should ask the employer first and then contact Service Canada.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 12 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.How to complete the Record of Employment (ROE) form — Employment and Social Development Canada (Service Canada) · accessed 12 October 2026
2. 2.Record of Employment (employers) — Employment and Social Development Canada · accessed 12 October 2026
3. 3.Access ROE Web — Employment and Social Development Canada · accessed 12 October 2026
4. 4.Digest of Benefit Entitlement Principles, chapter 18: employer penalties — Employment and Social Development Canada · accessed 12 October 2026
5. 5.Employment Insurance Act, ss. 135–137 — Justice Laws Website · accessed 12 October 2026
6. 6.Vacation pay and public holiday payments — Canada Revenue Agency · accessed 12 October 2026
7. 7.Your guide to the Employment Standards Act: Vacation — Government of Ontario · accessed 12 October 2026