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Worker Retention Grant for Work-Sharing Employers

The Worker Retention Grant (WRG) is designed to enable employers with an approved and implemented Work-Sharing agreement who commit to fostering training opportunities to provide additional income support to their Employment Insurance (EI) eligible employees who are working reduced hours and are on training. This Grant helps maintain employees’ income by keeping their earnings closer to their normal wages throughout the duration of the Work-Sharing agreement.

Application period:
February 16, 2026, to December 31, 2026, at 3 pm EST
Funding amount:
Funding amounts will vary depending on the details of the Work-Sharing agreement, such as the number of participating employees, the duration, and the reduction rate.
Who can apply:
Employers in all sectors with an approved and implemented Work-Sharing agreement.

Help and contact information

FAQs
How to complete the Grant Calculator

Guide for completing the Worker Retention Grant calculator form

This guide explains each section of the Worker Retention Grant Calculator and provides step-by-step instructions to ensure the form is completed as accurately as possible to obtain a reliable estimated Grant amount.

Please feel free to add more rows to the Excel sheet if you need to include additional employees.

If you have more than 100 employees and need a larger Excel file, just reach out to us at edsc.dgop.dmpj.smet-wrg.wdy.pob.esdc@servicecanada.gc.ca, and we’ll be happy to help.

Please ensure to consult and share the ‘Employee Annex’ within the ‘Grant Calculator’ with the employees participating in the Worker Retention Grant.

If you are an employer in Quebec, please use the tab indicated for Quebec employers to obtain the correct Mandatory Employment Related Costs (MERCs) rates.

Disclaimer: amounts obtained on this form are estimates and the amounts paid will be ultimately determined based on validated data.

1. Declaration section

This section confirms that the information you are submitting is truthful and accurate to the best of your knowledge.

How to complete this section
  • Name: enter the full name of the person completing the form
  • Date: enter the date the form is completed

2. Confidentiality statement

This section explains:

  • the authority under which the information is collected (Employment Insurance Act)
  • how the information will be used (administration, statistics, research)
  • where the information will be stored (Personal Information Bank HRSDC PPU 295)
  • your right to access your personal information under the Privacy Act and Access to Information Act

No action is required in this section - it is for information only.

3. Employer information

Name of employer

Enter the legal name of the employer applying for the Worker Retention Grant.

4. Employee information table

This is the main section of the form. Each row represents one employee in the Work-Sharing Unit.

For each employee, complete the following fields:

A. Social insurance number

Enter the employee's 9 digits social insurance number (SIN) with no spaces.

B. Employee name

Enter the employee's full legal name (first and last name).

C. Work-Sharing Unit
  • If applicable, enter the Work-Sharing Unit name or number
  • If the organization only has one unit, this may be left blank
D. Average Weekly Earnings per Employee
  • Enter the employee's average weekly earnings (AWE), before participating in the Work-Sharing agreement
  • The amount must match what is provided in the Work-Sharing application or internal payroll records
E. Employment insurance Benefit Rate

Enter the gross Employment Insurance (EI) benefit rate per week, as provided by the employee (from their EI Work-Sharing benefit claim information).

F. Reduction Rate

Enter the percentage reduction in the employee's working hours under the Work-Sharing agreement (for example, 20%, 30%, 50%).

G. Number of grant weeks

Enter the total number of weeks requested for your grant period as per question 21 and question 22 on the application form. This cannot exceed the number of weeks remaining on your Work-Sharing agreement or go beyond March 31, 2027.

H. Weekly supplement amount
  • This is the employer paid supplement per employee funded by the grant
  • It is calculated automatically using the reduction rate and EI benefit rate
I. Total supplement amount

This is calculated per employee automatically by multiplying the Weekly supplement amount × grant duration.

5. Totals at the bottom of the form

These fields summarize the cost of the grant request.

Total for the supplement amount

It is the sum of the total supplement amount values for all employees.

Total for EI premiums
  • This is the employer's portion of Employment Insurance (EI) premiums
  • The total EI premium cost associated with the Work-Sharing period is automatically calculated
Total for Canada Pension Plan

This is the employer's portion of Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions for the Work-Sharing period. It is automatically calculated.

Amount to request from ESDC
  • This represents the total reimbursement the employer is requesting
  • It is automatically calculated as: supplement total + EI premiums + CPP contributions

6. Final Review Before Submission

Before submitting the form and Excel calculator :

  • ensure all employee information is complete and accurate
  • verify all formulas have calculated properly (in Excel)
  • ensure names and SINs are correct
  • make sure the declaration section is signed and dated)
  • attach the completed Excel grant calculator with the application
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Page details

2026-03-16