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Notice to Employers - Record of Employment (ROE) - The Best 14 weeks
The Employment Insurance (EI) Best 14 Weeks pilot project was implemented on October 30, 2005. Under this pilot project, the EI benefit rate for workers who live in 23 EI economic regions will be established using the highest 14 weeks of insurable earnings in the last 52 weeks. This benefit rate requires a new reporting requirement on the Record of Employment (ROE) for these workers.
Easily adapt to this new reporting requirement and complete Records of Employment faster online using ROE Web. Many employers have already taken advantage of ROE Web allowing them to complete one or hundreds of ROEs in minutes. ROE Web also allows Service Canada to improve service delivery to EI recipients.
Employers with workers who live in the following economic regions should read this important information. To know what municipalities are part of these regions or to determine if a postal code is included, you can search the EI Economic regions by postal code. The search results will display a Best 14 Weeks Pilot column and will indicate “Yes” if the postal code is included in a participating region.
| Regions | Regions | Regions |
|---|---|---|
| Central Quebec, QC (map) | Northern British Columbia, (map) | Restigouche-Albert, NB (map) |
| Chicoutimi-Jonquière, QC (map) | Northern Manitoba, (map) | St. John’s, NL (map) |
| Eastern Nova Scotia (map) | Northern Ontario, (map) | Southern Coastal British Columbia -excluding Greater Vancouver (map) |
| Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC (map) | Northern Saskatchewan, (map) | Sudbury, (map) |
| Lower Saint Lawrence and North Shore, QC (map) | Northwest Territories, (map) | Trois-Rivières, QC (map) |
| Madawaska-Charlotte, NB (map) | North Western Quebec, (map) | Western Nova Scotia, (map) |
| Newfoundland and Labrador, (map) | Nunavut, (map) | Yukon, (map) |
| Northern Alberta, (map) | Prince Edward Island, (map) |
To facilitate this new calculation, the equivalent of 53 weeks of pay period data will be needed instead of 27 weeks provided through the existing ROE. The easiest way for employers to adapt is to use ROE Web which has been modified to allow employers to submit the equivalent of 53 weeks of pay period data.
To ease administration, employers can provide the equivalent of 53 weeks of pay period data using the ROE as an option. In order to do this, complete Block 15C of the ROE even if each of the pay periods has insurable earnings. Block 15C of the paper version has sufficient space to include all types of pay period except weekly. Except for this change, the instructions outlined in How to complete the Record of Employment (ROE) form remain the same. The following chart outlines how many pay periods are required for each pay period type as a result of the pilot project for employers in the affected regions:
| Pay Period Type | Number of consecutive pay periods to report for Block 15C or less if period of employment was shorter |
|---|---|
| Weekly | Last 53 |
| Bi-weekly | Last 27 |
| Semi-monthly | Last 25 |
| Monthly | Last 13 |
| 13 pay periods a year | Last 14 |
Employers who have weekly pay periods can use the worksheet to provide data for pay periods 28 to 53 — Block 15C — and attach it to the paper or laser printed version fo the ROE.
If your company uses one of the larger Payroll Service Providers (PSPs), you may have other options such as sending your ROEs through your PSP. Many Payroll Software Vendors will be including the 53 week earnings capacity (ROE Web) in upcoming versions of their software packages.
If your company or your Payroll Service Provider is not able to make the adjustment to provide the equivalent of 53 weeks of pay period data on the ROE, Service Canada may contact you for the additional information. Service Canada will make every effort to obtain the additional payroll information from claimants before onctacting employers.
For complete information on ROE Web, the Best 14 Weeks pilot and to access the guide How to complete the record of Employment (ROE)...
You can also contact our ROE Web Help Desk at 1 800 385-5470.
