The Guidelines for Enquiries About Insurability
Situations could arise where employers might have questions about the insurability of earnings or hours. For this, they would need to contact the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
By Telephone: Employers could contact the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) at 1-800-959-5525.
On the Internet: Employers would need to visit the website of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
Similarly, situations could arise where employers might need additional information on Employment Insurance (EI) premiums. For this, they would need to refer to the following Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) publications:
- T4001, Employer’s Guide – Payroll Deductions and Remittances
- Chapter 3 of the guide contains details on insurable employment, earnings and hours as well as about the manner in which employers would need to calculate Employment Insurance (EI) premiums
- T4130, Employer’s Guide – Taxable Benefits
- RC4110, Employed or Self-Employed?
Employers can avail copies of these publications. For this, they would need to contact their local tax services office. Alternatively, they could visit the website of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
Useful Websites for Employers
Employers might find the information given on the following websites useful:
- The Employment Insurance (EI) for Employers – for employer information about the Employment Insurance (EI) program
- The Record of Employment (ROE) Web – for information on Record of Employment (ROE) Web
- The Work Sharing Program
- The Work Sharing Program enables employers to deal with business cutbacks, while still avoiding the laying off of employees
- Under the terms of a work sharing agreement, employers have the ability to reduce their employees’ work week by one to three days
- Thereafter, they could pay their employees reduced wages
- Service Canada typically arranges for the employees who are eligible for Employment Insurance (EI) to receive benefits for the hours, days of shifts that these employees do not work
- These benefits provide appropriate compensation for these employees for the lower wages they receive from the employer
- The Report on Hirings (ROH) Program
- It is worth highlighting that Service Canada is responsible for protecting the integrity of the Employment Insurance (EI) program
- This is why the authorities designed the Report on Hirings (ROH) program
- The Report on Hirings (ROH) program enables the authorities to ensure that only eligible individuals end up receiving the Employment Insurance (EI) benefits
- The Automated Earnings Reporting System (AERS)
- The Automated Earnings Reporting System (AERS) refers to a voluntary verification program that protects the Employment Insurance (EI) program while reducing the administrative costs for employers
- Employers would typically use the Automated Earnings Reporting System (AERS) for submitting payroll information to Service Canada electronically
- The Request for Payroll Information
- The authorities typically ask some employers to complete the Service Canada Request for Payroll Information forms
- For the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA’s) My Business Account
- Employers would need to visit the website of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for more details about the My Business Account online service
- For General Government of Canada Enquiries
- Employers would need to visit the website of Canada.ca
- For the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA’s) My Business Account
- The authorities typically ask some employers to complete the Service Canada Request for Payroll Information forms
The Guidelines for Ordering Records of Employment (ROEs) or Speaking to a Record of Employment (ROE) Supervisor
In many cases, employers might require detailed assistance for completing the Record of Employment (ROE). In case employers have any questions on this, they would need to call the Employer Contact Centre at 1-800-367-5693 (TTY: 1-855-881-9874). It is worth mentioning that the authorities do not accept orders for paper Record of Employment (ROE) forms by fax any longer.