Manage your Worker Retention Grant agreement

This page is intended for employers with an approved Worker Retention Grant (WRG) project. It provides guidance to help you successfully manage every stage of your project, from adding or removing employees to submitting your final report.

The WRG provides funding to supplement an employees' Employment Insurance Work-Sharing benefits while they participate in training during non-working hours. Funding must be used for eligible expenses, including income supplement payments and mandatory employment-related costs.

You must maintain an active Work-Sharing agreement for the entire duration of your WRG project.

On this page

• Know your roles and responsibilities
• Provide the employee annex
• Employment Insurance benefit rate and consent
• Worker Retention Grant income supplement and training requirement
• Understand the payment process
• Retain records of income supplement payments
• Keep your project on track
• Make changes to your agreement
• How to report the Worker Retention Grant supplement on the Record of Employment
• Best practices
• Contact us

Know your roles and responsibilities

As a WRG-funded employer you are expected to comply with the Articles of Agreement outlined in your WRG agreement document. Please review them carefully before your project starts as these articles are legally binding.

Failure to meet the conditions of the agreement may lead to the termination of your project.

Provide the employee annex

Employers must provide employees participating in the Worker Retention Grant the employee annex included in the Grant Calculator workbook, which is also available on the Employee annex page.

Employment Insurance benefit rate and consent

Most of the information an employer needs are already collected for the Work-Sharing program. To calculate an employee's Worker Retention Grant income supplement, employers will need each employee's gross EI Work-Sharing benefit rate.

• Providing the benefit rate information is voluntary
• If the employee chooses to provide it, they are giving consent for you (their employer) to:
  • collect this information to be used only for the administration of the Worker Retention Grant
  • share it with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) / Service Canada to administer the grant; and
  • protect this information in accordance with applicable privacy requirements as stated in the Employee Annex

If the employee does not provide you their gross EI benefit rate, they can still participate in Work-Sharing and training, but they will not be eligible to receive the WRG income supplement. You must retain records of the consent, collection, and disclosure of the gross EI benefit rate for each employee, and reports supporting calculations and payment for the WRG income supplement payments made to each employee for a period of six (6) years.

Worker Retention Grant income supplement and training requirement

Since the WRG is an income supplement used to ensure EI eligible Work-Sharing employees maintain closer to their normal income, you:

• must have a formal employer-employee relationship with the participant(s); and
• must maintain an active and implemented Work-Sharing agreement for the entire duration of your WRG project

This means:

• you must offer training opportunities during at least 40% of the weeks covered by the WRG agreement and make training available to all eligible employees participating in the Work-Sharing unit covered by your agreement.

• The WRG does not require training to occur every week of the agreement or during all reduced Work-Sharing hours. Employers must simply ensure that training opportunities are offered during at least 40% of the weeks covered by the agreement
• You must pay the WRG participant(s) the income supplement for the period of the WRG agreement
• You must deduct all Mandatory Employment Related Costs (MERCs) and remit them to Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
• You must report the WRG income support payments on participating employees' records of employment (ROE)

How to identify available training

Employers participating in the Work‑Sharing Program, including those supported through the WRG, can access a wide range of training opportunities to help upskill and retain their workforce during periods of reduced business activity.

Training can take many forms and should be tailored to the needs of your business and employees. Training may be online or in person, including facilitator‑led, employer‑arranged, or peer‑to‑peer training in the workplace during non-work hours. Employers may use internal or external training providers and select training that supports current operational needs, workforce retention, or longer-term skills development.

Training options through Job Bank

Employers can visit Job Bank's Training Finder to identify training that supports your employees and business needs. Through this tool, you can:

• search thousands of short-term training courses across Canada
• filter by skill type, cost, industry, location, or format (online/in-person); and
• identify training that supports both immediate business needs and long-term workforce development

These courses are sourced from recognized institutions and training providers nationwide.

Learn more: Training options for Work-Sharing employers - Job Bank

Training and employment supports through Labour Market Development Agreements

Under the Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDAs), workers participating in Work-Sharing may also be eligible for additional training and employment supports funded through provincial and territorial programs.

Eligible workers may be able to:

• develop new skills and gain experience to transition to other employment opportunities
• access training that supports employment in growing industries
• upgrade their skills to help retain their current job

Employers are encouraged to explore available provincial and territorial employment and training services. This may help identify additional supports that may complement training provided through their Worker Retention Grant.

Learn more: Labour Market Development Agreements - Canada.ca

Understand the payment process

This section explains how funding works under the WRG program, to ensure you have the tools to manage payments in compliance with program requirements.

Payment model

The Worker Retention Grant uses an installment payment model:

• 50% of the approved funding is issued at the start of the agreement
• 40% is issued following the submission and acceptance of a validation report (Payment Installment 2); and
• 10% is issued following the submission and acceptance of a final attestation progress report

Note: No payments will be issued without the required reports.

Retain records of income supplement payments

Employers are required to keep a track of weekly income supplement payments made to each employee participating in the WRG. A WRG employer payment tracker tool will be provided to you when your WRG agreement is approved and signed. You are required to submit this payment tracker during reporting.

Employee income supplement eligibility

Income supplements may only be provided where:

• the employee is participating in an active Work-Sharing agreement
• the employee is entitled to EI Work-Sharing benefits during that week; and
• the employee is participating in eligible training

Income supplements are not payable for weeks where:

• the Work-Sharing agreement is not in effect
• the employee is not participating in Work-Sharing; or
• the week falls outside the approved Worker Retention Grant project period; or
• the employee was not entitled to EI Work-Sharing benefits for that week

Definition of a worker retention week

A worker retention week is a Work-Sharing week. The employee works at least one half hour for the Work-Sharing employer and is paid for work performed.

Note: It is not sufficient for an employee to be paid for a half hour - the employee must have performed work for example, statutory holiday pay or vacation pay are paid for time that is not considered to be "work".

Keep your project on track

This section explains the importance of keeping all your documents up to date. We may contact you to ensure you are compliant with your WRG agreement. It also explains what happens if your organization does not comply with the WRG agreement.

Validation Reporting Process

You are required to submit:

• a validation report at the midpoint of the WRG agreement (Payment Installment 2) must be submitted one week prior to the agreement reaching 50% of its duration. (Example: If your agreement is 20 weeks in duration, the midpoint occurs at week 10. The validation report should be submitted during week 9)
• the final attestation progress report must be submitted no later than 21 calendar days following the project end date, as indicated on your WRG agreement

These reports are used to:

• to validate and issue the second and final income supplement installment payments
• confirm employee participation in training

Note: It is highly encouraged that employers leverage available utilization report data to support the completion of validation reports.

Submission of validation reports

Validation reports must be submitted through the Grants and Contributions Online Services (GCOS) system under "Supporting Documents" for the Worker Retention Grant.

To submit validation reports:

• log into your GCOS account
• select your Worker Retention Grant application
• navigate to the "Supporting Documents" section
• upload the:
  • Midpoint validation report (Payment Installment 2); or
  • Final attestation report

Employers must ensure that all required documentation is complete before submission. Failure to provide all required documentation could result in:

• no payments being issued until validation reports have been submitted and accepted
• withheld payments, repayment of funds, or termination of the agreement

Employers must retain copies of submitted validation reports and supporting documentation for their records for a period of six (6) years.

Audit and evaluation

The final report, completed in accordance with the evaluation activities set out in the "Project Activities" section of Schedule A of your WRG Agreement, must be submitted within 35 calendar days of the agreement end date specified in your WRG agreement.

As indicated in your WRG agreement, you may be subject to an audit and/or evaluation. Therefore, you must keep supporting records for a period of six (6) years and provide them if requested.

Mandatory Employment Related Costs

Worker Retention Grant monies are considered insurable, pensionable, and taxable earnings. As such, you are automatically entitled to the employer paid statutory contributions associated with Employment Insurance (EI), Canada Pension Plan (CPP), and Quebec Pension Plan (if applicable).

These Mandatory Employment Related Costs (MERCs) will be added to the total grant funding cost automatically in the 'Grant Calculator' Excel book.

To learn more about payroll deductions and MERCs, consult the CRA website.

Changes to funding amount

The total grant funding may change over the course of the agreement because payments are based on employee-level data, including:

• EI benefit rates
• EI conditions affecting weekly EI Work-Sharing benefits entitlement
• changes in the reduction in work hours under the Work-Sharing agreement; and
• employees withdrawing from the training

As a result, actual payments and the corresponding allocated MERCs may differ from initial estimates.

Make changes to your agreement

This section outlines how you can request changes to your WRG agreement, how changes to your Work-Sharing agreement impact your WRG agreement, and clarifies which changes are eligible under the WRG program.

Changes to Work-Sharing agreement and Worker Retention Grant participation

If changes are made to the Work-Sharing agreement that will affect participation under the Worker Retention Grant, the employer representative must inform the Program Officer(s) assigned to your Work-Sharing agreement and your Worker Retention Grant agreement, and follow the instructions provided.

This includes, but is not limited to:

• extending the duration of the Work-Sharing agreement
• adding new employees to the Work-Sharing agreement who also wish to participate in the Worker Retention Grant; and/or
• making other material changes to the Work-Sharing agreement

When changes occur, the employer representative will be required to:

• inform both the Work-Sharing and WRG Program Officer (may be the same Program Officer)
• re-attest a commitment to training activities under the Worker Retention Grant, including meeting the requirement to support training activities for at least 40% of the agreement duration

Changes may impact:

• eligibility for the grant
• approved funding amounts
• payment schedules; and
• validation reporting requirements

Employees added after the initial grant application must:

• meet grant program requirements
• provide consent for EI benefit rate (if applicable); and
• be included in validation reporting and supporting documentation

Failure to notify the Program Officer and complete required re-attestation may result in:

• delays in payments
• adjustments to funding; or
• ineligibility for training income supplements already paid

How to report the Worker Retention Grant income supplement on the Record of Employment

This section explains how to report the Worker Retention Grant income supplement when you need to issue a Record of Employment (ROE).

Reporting the supplement on the record of employment

The supplement paid to your employees is considered insurable earnings. You must report the supplement on the ROE in the same way as wages.

Insurable hours must also be associated with the period of leave for which this supplement is paid. A period of leave corresponds to the hours missed due to Work-Sharing during a week.

You must therefore report the supplement and the insurable hours on the ROE.

Insurable hours

For each week that the supplement is payable, one hour missed due to Work-Sharing counts as one insurable hour.

To determine the number of insurable hours to report on the ROE, you can refer to the Work-Sharing utilization reports you completed during your participation in the Worker Retention Grant program.

Entering the insurable earnings and hours on the record of employment

Depending on the period covered by the ROE, the insurable hours and insurable earnings related to the Worker Retention Grant income supplement must be included in the calculation of the following blocks:

• 15A - Total insurable hours
• 15B - Total insurable earnings
• 15C - Insurable earnings by pay period

Example

Here is an example to help you report insurable hours and insurable earnings from the Worker Retention Grant on the ROE.

Basic information

• Normal weekly hours of work: 40 hours
• Hourly rate: $25 per hour
• Normal weekly earnings: $1,000 ($52,000 ÷ 52 weeks)
• Pay period type: weekly (Sunday to Saturday)
• Employment Insurance benefit rate: $550 ($52,000 × 0.55 ÷ 52)

Week 1 - Hours missed solely due to Work-Sharing

Monday May 4, 2026	Tuesday May 5, 2026	Wednesday May 6, 2026	Thursday May 7, 2026	Friday May 8, 2026	Amount of the income Supplement
8 hours worked	8 hours worked	8 hours worked	8 hours missed due to Work-Sharing	8 hours missed due to Work-Sharing	$60

The total number of insurable hours is 40 hours:

• 24 hours worked under the Work-Sharing agreement
• 16 hours missed due to Work-Sharing, corresponding with the period of leave

The total insurable earnings paid for this week is $660:

• $600 in regular wages: 24 hours worked x $25 per hour = $600
• $60 in Worker Retention Grant supplement

On the ROE, you must:

• include 40 hours in the calculation of block 15A - Total insurable hours
• include $660 in the calculation of block 15B - Total insurable earnings
• enter $660 in the relevant pay period of block 15C - Insurable earnings by pay period

Week 2 - Some hours missed are not related to Work-Sharing

Monday May 13, 2026	Tuesday May 14, 2026	Wednesday May 15, 2026	Thursday May 16, 2026	Friday May 17, 2026	Amount of the income Supplement
8 hours worked	8 hours worked	8 hours worked	8 hours missed due to Work-Sharing	8 hours not worked and unpaid (for a reason other than Work-Sharing)	$30

The total number of insurable hours is 32 hours:

• 24 hours worked under the Work-Sharing agreement
• 8 hours missed due to Work-Sharing, corresponding to the period of leave

The total insurable earnings paid for this week is $630:

• $600 in regular wages: 24 hours worked x $25 per hour = $600
• $30 in Worker Retention Grant supplement

On the ROE, you must:

• include 32 hours in the calculation of block 15A - Total insurable hours
• include $630 in the calculation of block 15B - Total insurable earnings
• enter $630 in the relevant pay period of block 15C - Insurable earnings by pay period

Support and further information

For more information on ROEs:

• How to complete the record of employment (ROE) form
• contact the Employer Contact Centre at 1-800-367-5693 if you have any questions

Best practices

Review these lists to help you meet your responsibilities and keep your project on track. They will ensure you have the right information if we need to contact you to follow up on the details of your project.

Quick checklist

Before your project starts

During your project

Midpoint

End of project

Go digital with Grants and Contributions Online Services

Managing your WRG agreement is easier with Grants and Contributions Online Services (GCOS). If your organization is not already using GCOS, we strongly encourage you to sign up.

Consult the GCOS User Guide to apply to WRG and manage your project

Unsure whether you or someone in your organization created an account or if your organization is already registered with GCOS?

Contact the Employer Contact Centre (ECC) by phone:

• 1-800-367-5693 (Hours of operation: 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST, Monday to Friday)

Contact the GCOS team by email:

• NA-GCOS-SELSC-GD@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

When contacting the GCOS team, please include at least one of the below in your email to help us locate your file:

• your organization's nine-digit Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) business number
• legal name of your organization

Contact us

Contact your Service Canada representative for questions about your agreement. You can find their contact information at the bottom of your approval email. Make sure to include the name of your organization and your project number in your message.

Check your emails often

If you are a primary contact person, remember to monitor your emails regularly. We will be sending you information regarding WRG (such as mandatory reporting documents) during and after the agreement.

Check your spam and junk folders

If you are unsure whether we have contacted you, please check your junk mail and spam folders for messages from:

EDSC.DGOP.DMPJ.SMET-WRG.WDY.POB.ESDC@servicecanada.gc.ca, as well as any emails from your Service Canada representative.