Worker Retention Grant - Employee annex
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Worker Retention Grant: Employee annex [PDF - 197 KB]
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About the Worker Retention Grant
The Worker Retention Grant (WRG) helps employers with Work-Sharing agreements to offer training to employees during weeks when work hours are reduced, and employees are receiving Employment Insurance (EI) Work-Sharing benefits.
Through the grant, employers will:
- offer training to help you build or improve skills (for example, digital skills, safety training, or job‑related training)
- provide a supplement to help replace some of the income you lose because of reduced hours (up to about 70% of the reduction, if you are eligible)
Participation is optional
Taking part in the Worker Retention Grant training is your choice. You can decide whether or not to participate in training, and your decision will not affect your participation in Work-Sharing or your EI Work-Sharing benefits.
How the grant works
- Your employer applies for the WRG to Service Canada and provides required business and employee information.
- Service Canada checks this information against:
- Work-Sharing utilization reports
- Your EI Work-Sharing benefit information
- This review confirms:
- Whether the employer and employees are eligible
- How much funding is approved
- How much each participating employee may receive
- If approved, your employer pays the supplement to you in instalments.
- Payments depend on ongoing eligibility and are only paid for eligible Work-Sharing weeks.
How the supplement is calculated
Your supplement amount may change from week to week. It depends on:
- how many hours your work was reduced under Work-Sharing
- your EI benefit eligibility
- the eligible weeks under your employer's WRG agreement
Because of this, the supplement may not be the same every week.
Work-Sharing week
A Work‑Sharing week is one where:
- You worked and were paid for hours worked, and
- You missed at least 0.5 hours of work due to the Work-Sharing agreement
Important notes:
- You must have actually worked; being paid without working does not count
- You must remain available to work your normal hours
- You must report to work if work is available
Time is not considered Work‑Sharing time if you:
- were not available to work, or
- refused available work
Information your employer needs for the grant
To manage the grant, your employer must collect some information about you, including:
- full legal name
- social Insurance Number (SIN)
- average weekly earnings
- Work-Sharing hours
- training participation
- gross EI benefit rate
Note: Most of this information is already collected for the Work‑Sharing program.
Employment Insurance benefit rate and your consent
To calculate your Worker Retention Grant supplement, your employer will ask you for your gross EI Work-Sharing benefit rate.
- Providing this information is voluntary
- If you choose to provide it, you are giving consent for your employer to:
- collect this information
- share it with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) / Service Canada to administer the grant
By providing this information, you are confirming that you wish to participate in the Worker Retention Grant.
If you do not provide your EI benefit rate, you can still participate in Work Sharing and training, but you will not be eligible to receive the WRG supplement.
Validation of data
All information provided by the employer is checked against official EI records to make sure the grant payments are accurate.
Employer responsibilities
Your employer must:
- provide you with this Employee Information document
- get your consent (verbal or written) before collecting and sharing your EI benefit rate
- keep records showing your consent, which Service Canada may request for review or audit purposes
Authority of collection
Your personal information is collected under federal privacy laws to manage the Worker Retention Grant.
- Your SIN is used only to verify your EI benefit rate
- Your information may also be used for research, evaluation, or policy analysis
- These uses will never result in decisions that directly affect you
Privacy legislation and policies require that at the time personal information is collected from individuals, they are informed of what is being done with that information through a privacy notice.
The information you provide is collected under the authority of section 7 of the Department of Social Development Act (DESDA) and section 61 of the Employment Insurance Act to participate and receive the Worker Retention Grant supplement.
ESDC/Service Canada's collection of the Social Insurance Number (SIN) is authorized in accordance with section 4 and section 5 of the Privacy Act, section 61 of the Employment Insurance Act, and section 7 of the Department of Social Development Act (DESDA), as well as the Treasury Board Secretariat Directive on the Social Insurance Number. The SIN will be used to verify your gross Employment Insurance Benefit Rate.
Other potential uses of your information
Your information may be used and/or disclosed for policy analysis, research, and/or evaluation purposes. However, these additional uses and/or disclosures of your personal information will never result in an administrative decision being made about you.
Protection of your information
You have the right to:
- access your personal information
- request corrections if the information is incomplete or incorrect
You have the right to the protection of, access to, and correction of your personal information under the Privacy Act. All uses and disclosures are described in Personal Information Banks Employment Insurance Claim Files (ESDC PPU 191) and Additional Labour Market Initiatives (ESDC PPU 295) in Info Source for a description of how personal information related to this activity is managed. You also have the right to request access to your personal information and also to request corrections to it if you notice the information is inaccurate or incomplete.
If you are not satisfied with Service Canada's handling of your personal information, you may wish to contact or file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.