How to Issue a Record of Employment: 2026 Complete Canadian Guide

What Is a Record of Employment — and Who Issues It?

A Record of Employment (ROE) is the most important payroll document in Canada's Employment Insurance (EI) system. Every time an employee experiences an interruption of earnings — a layoff, termination, resignation, or leave of absence — the employer must issue an ROE to Service Canada. The ROE tells Service Canada the employee's earnings history, insurable hours, and the reason for leaving, which Service Canada uses to determine EI eligibility and benefit amounts.

Understanding how to get a Record of Employment starts with one key fact: the employer issues the ROE, not the employee. Employees do not file their own ROE. They simply provide their Social Insurance Number (SIN) to their employer and — if their employer uses ROE Web — can access their ROE directly in their My Service Canada Account. Employers have legal obligations under the *Employment Insurance Act* to issue ROEs accurately and on time.

When Must an Employer Issue an ROE?

An ROE is required any time an employee experiences an interruption of earnings — generally defined as 7 or more consecutive calendar days without work and without wages from that employer. Common triggering events include:

• ●Layoff (temporary or permanent)
• ●Termination or dismissal
• ●Resignation or voluntary quit
• ●Maternity, parental, or adoption leave
• ●Medical leave or disability leave
• ●End of a fixed-term contract
• ●Strike or lockout
• ●Compassionate care leave or family caregiver leave

Important: A brief reduction in hours does not automatically require an ROE. If an employee goes from full-time to part-time but continues working without a 7-consecutive-day gap, no ROE is needed unless and until the 7-day threshold is triggered.

ROE Issuance Deadlines

Service Canada enforces strict ROE deadlines. Missing them can delay the employee's EI claim and expose the employer to enforcement action.

The extended deadline for ROE Web users (second pay period rule) applies only to electronic submissions. If you issue paper ROEs, the 5-day rule applies regardless of payroll type.

Example: An employee's last day worked is Friday, April 18, 2026. On a bi-weekly payroll, the pay period ends April 26. If you use ROE Web, you have until the end of the second subsequent pay period — but in practice, issuing the ROE immediately after processing the final pay run is best practice.

How to Issue an ROE Through ROE Web (Recommended)

ROE Web is Service Canada's free online portal for electronic ROE submission. The vast majority of Canadian employers use ROE Web because it is faster, more accurate, and gives employees immediate access to their ROE through My Service Canada Account. Most payroll software (QuickBooks Payroll, Wagepoint, Humi, ADP, Ceridian) can export ROE data directly to ROE Web.

Step-by-step to issue an ROE via ROE Web:

1. Log in at canada.ca using your My Business Account or GCKey credentials and navigate to ROE Web 2. Select Create New ROE and choose the relevant employee 3. Confirm the employee's SIN and personal information 4. Select the correct ROE reason code — Code A for shortage of work/layoff, Code E for quit, Code M for dismissal, Code P for parental leave. See our [complete ROE codes guide](/blog/roe-codes-complete-list) for every code and when to use each 5. Enter Block 10 (first day worked) and Block 11 (last day for which paid) 6. Enter Block 12 (final pay period ending date) — this is the last calendar day of the pay period, not the last day worked 7. Enter Block 15A and 15B (total insurable hours and total insurable earnings for the last 27 pay periods, or since the start of employment if shorter) 8. Complete Block 17A/17B if the employee has any vacation pay — both amounts already paid out and any outstanding vacation pay accrued but not yet paid must be reported 9. Add Block 18 (comments) for any special circumstances: a recall date for temporary layoffs, an expected return date for medical leave, or workers' compensation overlap 10. Review all blocks, then submit — the ROE is immediately accessible to the employee in My Service Canada Account

One critical note on Block 15C: Insurable earnings are not the same as gross wages. Insurable earnings exclude certain non-cash taxable benefits, employer RRSP contributions, and some allowances. When in doubt, refer to CRA's [T4001 Employers' Guide](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/publications/t4001.html) for the insurable earnings definition.

How to Issue a Paper ROE

Paper ROEs are issued only when an employer does not have access to ROE Web — uncommon today but still valid for very small or rural employers without reliable internet access.

1. Order official, serial-numbered ROE forms from Service Canada (paper ROEs cannot be photocopied — each form has a unique serial number) 2. Complete the form in full, including all blocks described above 3. Issue three copies: Copy 1 goes to Service Canada, Copy 2 goes to the employee, Copy 3 is retained by the employer for 6 years 4. The employee submits Copy 1 (or Copy 2 if Copy 1 is lost) when applying for EI at a Service Canada centre or online

Paper ROEs take significantly longer to process than electronic ROEs — often adding 1-2 weeks to EI claim processing time. If you are still issuing paper ROEs, transitioning to ROE Web should be a near-term priority.

How Employees Access Their ROE

For employees asking how to get a Record of Employment:

If your employer uses ROE Web: Your ROE appears in your [My Service Canada Account](https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/my-account.html) automatically — typically within 2 business days of your last pay period being processed. You do not need a physical copy to apply for EI; Service Canada retrieves it automatically when you file your claim.

If your employer uses paper ROEs: Your employer must give you a copy within 5 days of your last day paid. Keep it in a safe place — you will need it when applying for EI, and a replacement takes time.

If your employer refuses to issue an ROE: This is a violation of the Employment Insurance Act. Call Service Canada at 1-800-206-7218. Service Canada will contact your employer directly and can pursue enforcement action. Critically, do not wait for the ROE to apply for EI — apply immediately and note in your application that the ROE has not been provided. Service Canada will follow up with the employer separately.

Common ROE Mistakes to Avoid

For an in-depth breakdown of every ROE code and the correct scenario for each, see our [ROE codes complete list](/blog/roe-codes-complete-list).

ROE Record Retention Requirements

Employers must retain ROE copies — paper originals or electronic records — for 6 years after the end of the calendar year in which the ROE was issued. This is consistent with the broader CRA requirement to retain all payroll records (T4s, time sheets, payroll journals, remittance records) for 6 years. Service Canada auditors and CRA auditors both request ROEs as standard documents during compliance reviews.

Maintaining organized payroll records is part of sound bookkeeping practice. Our [monthly bookkeeping service](/services/monthly-bookkeeping) includes payroll record organization so your business stays audit-ready without extra administrative burden.

Embedding ROE Issuance Into Your Offboarding Process

The most reliable way to never miss an ROE deadline is to make ROE issuance a standard step in your employee offboarding checklist. When any employee departs:

• ●Process the final pay run in your payroll software immediately
• ●Generate and submit the ROE via ROE Web before the end of the pay period (do not wait for the 5-day deadline)
• ●Notify the employee their ROE is available in My Service Canada Account
• ●File the employer's copy in the employee's HR record and retain for 6 years
• ●If a temporary layoff with a recall date, enter the recall date in Block 18 and monitor for when to issue a new ROE if the employee is not recalled

For employers managing multiple pay runs, CPP and EI contributions, and T4 preparation alongside ROE issuance, our [payroll bookkeeping service](/services/payroll) handles the complete payroll compliance cycle. For a full breakdown of payroll deduction calculations — CPP, EI, and income tax — see our [Canadian payroll deductions guide](/blog/how-to-calculate-payroll-deductions-canada).

[Book a free consultation](/contact) to get your payroll and ROE process running on time, every time.