Record of Employment (ROE)

A Record of Employment is the form a Canadian employer issues when an employee has an interruption of earnings, such as a layoff, quit, dismissal or leave. It shows the person's insurable hours and earnings and the reason for leaving, and Service Canada uses it to decide whether they qualify for Employment Insurance and how much they get.

Glossary / Record of Employment

How it works

An interruption of earnings generally happens when an employee has seven consecutive days with no work and no insurable earnings, or when their earnings fall below 60% of their usual weekly pay because of illness, injury, quarantine, pregnancy or parental care. You issue an ROE whether or not the employee plans to claim EI.

Electronic ROEs for weekly, biweekly or semi-monthly pay are due five calendar days after the end of the pay period in which the interruption happened. Paper ROEs are due within five calendar days of the interruption. Block 16 gives the reason code, such as A for shortage of work, E for quit, and M for dismissal. Misstating the reason is a serious offence.

Worked example: A seasonal layoff

A landscaping crew member paid biweekly is laid off on November 14 at the end of the season. The ROE uses code A (shortage of work or end of season). Block 15A shows insurable hours, block 15B total insurable earnings for the relevant pay periods, and block 15C the earnings in each period.

If the pay period ends November 21, the electronic ROE is due by November 26.

In AcboBooks

AcboBooks builds a Record of Employment worksheet from payroll: first day worked, last day paid, pay period type, total insurable earnings and earnings by pay period, with a CSV export. You enter the reason code and insurable hours and submit through ROE Web; it does not file the ROE.

Related terms

Related on this site

Sources

Service Canada: How to complete the Record of Employment form

Updated October 25, 2026. General information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Rules and rates change; check with the IRS, the CRA, your state or province, or your accountant.

Back to the full glossary