How to apply
To apply, employers must complete:
Before you complete the forms, make sure you have read and understood:
Employers must submit their completed forms by email to their Regional Work-Sharing Unit.
Instructions for completing the Work-Sharing application form EMP5100
The following provides instructions for employers completing the Work-Sharing application form EMP 5100. The box numbers listed correspond to the box numbers in the application form.
Incomplete Work-Sharing applications will delay Service Canada's assessment of your application.
All agreements must start on a Sunday to align with the Employment Insurance payment cycle.
To amend an existing Work-Sharing agreement please complete the full Work-Sharing application form EMP5100. When the amendment is to add, remove or substitute participants from the Work-Sharing unit, employers must also include the revised Work-Sharing unit Attachment A form EMP5101.
General information – Boxes 1 to 3
Box 1: Type of application
Provide the type of Application to the Work-Sharing program you are submitting:
- Work-Sharing agreement (between 6 and 26 weeks)
Amendment (complete Part 1 and Part 4):
- to a Work-Sharing Unit:
- additions, deletions or substitutions
- agreement extensions
- other (for example, change to legal name or representatives, work schedules or shutdowns)
Work-Sharing agreements must be between 6 weeks minimum and 26 weeks.
Requested start and end date (must start on a Sunday and end on a Saturday).
- Your requested start date must be no later than 60 calendar days after the application date
- Submit the complete application package at least 10 business days prior to the requested start date
Box 2: Previous agreement number and end date (if applicable)
Provide the previous Work-Sharing agreement number issued to the employer and employee representative and include the end date (if applicable).
Box 3: If your company submitted 1 or more applications to other processing centre(s), Please indicate where it has been submitted
If you have submitted 1 or more applications to other processing centre(s), indicate in which region(s) by checking the appropriate box(es).
Part 1: Employer information – Boxes 4 to 19
Box 4: Operating name of the employer
Provide the name by which the business is commonly known (operating name).
Box 5: Date business established in Canada
Enter the date the business was established in Canada (YYYY-MM-DD).
Box 6: Legal name of employer
Enter the legal name of your business (organization). This is the name associated with your registration with Canada Revenue Agency.
Boxes 7, 8, 9 and 10: Legal address of the employer, city/ town, province/territory and postal code
Enter the legal address of your business as registered with Canada Revenue Agency including, the address, name of the city/town in which the business is located, as well as the applicable province or territory and postal code.
Box 11: Mailing address (If different from employer legal address)
If different from the legal address as registered with the Canada Revenue Agency, enter the full mailing address to which all correspondence should be sent. Otherwise, leave it blank.
Boxes 12 and 13: Telephone and facsimile number (10-digits)
Enter the main telephone and fax numbers normally used for business purposes including the area code.
Box 14: Business e-mail address
Specify the business e-mail address.
Box 15: Business website URL (if applicable)
If the business has a website, provide the URL address.
Box 16: Canada Revenue Agency Business Number (15-character Payroll Account Number)
Enter the Canada Revenue Agency Payroll Account Number you use to report the employees' payroll deductions to the Canada Revenue Agency. The Payroll Account Number consists of nine numbers, followed by two letters (RP), and followed by four numbers. You must enter all 15 characters.
Box 17: Name of employer representative, email address and phone number
Please indicate the contact details of the employer representative.
Box 18: Name of employee representative, email address and phone number (their name must also be included on the Attachment A EMP5101)
Please indicate the contact details of the employee representative of the non-unionized unit and/or workplace.
If you have multiple Work-Sharing units please provide the employee representative contact details for each unit on a separate piece of paper.
Box 19: Name of union representative, email address and phone number (their name must also be included on the Attachment A EMP5101)
Please indicate the contact details of the employee representative of the unionized workplace.
Part 2: Additional information – Boxes 20 to 25
Box 20: Description of business – Types of products/services offered
Briefly describe what your company does. What products or services your business is offering.
Box 21: Are your employees unionized or non-unionized
Please check the appropriate box to indicate if the employees of the Work-sharing unit are unionized or non-unionized. The box checked should reflect the information provided for the employee representative(s) from question(s) 18 or 19.
Box 22: Total number of Work-Sharing employees
Provide the total number of employees you are proposing to include in the Work-Sharing agreement. If employees are in multiple work locations please check the box.
Box 23: Name of payroll administrator, their email address and phone number
Enter the name of the employee or third party responsible for preparing payroll records. Please also provide their email and phone number.
Box 24: What event(s) or factor(s) have led your business to apply to the Work-Sharing Program? (You may attach additional pieces of paper to answer this question.)
Please describe the events and/or factors, which have prompted your Work-Sharing application. To answer this question, you may attach supplementary documentation and/or provide your answer on additional pieces of paper.
Box 25: Is the layoff or work shortage due to a labour dispute, a seasonal slowdown or a business restructuring?
Select Yes, if the work shortage is due to a labour dispute, such as:
- work slowdown
- strike
- lockout, or
- work stoppage:
- within the business
- with a customer, or
- with a supplier
Select Yes, if the work shortage is due to:
- a season slowdown, or
- a business restructuring
Select No, if none of the above apply.
Box 26: What recovery measures will your business be undertaking during the period of the agreement?
Provide a description of any recovery measures that you will take during the period of the agreement, to respond to the downturn in business activity. Examples:
- marketing
- advertising
- cost-cutting measures
- product development
- incentives to clients
- others
Part 3: Work-Sharing unit information – Boxes 27 to 36
Box 27: Average weekly earnings per Work-Sharing unit (include additional income per Work-Sharing unit when calculating earnings (bonuses, tips, etc.))
Enter the average weekly earnings (over the last 12 months) for all participating employees in each Work-Sharing unit. Please use the following formula:
- total weekly gross earnings and additional income of participating employees in the unit
- divided by the number of participating employees in the unit
Box 28: The shortage of work is expected to be: temporary or permanent
Please select whether you expected the shortage of work to be either temporary or permanent.
Box 29: Number of employees to be laid off temporarily should Work-Sharing not be approved (anticipated)
Enter the number of employees that you estimate you will have to temporarily layoff if Work-Sharing is not approved.
Box 30: Number of weeks of temporary layoff should Work-Sharing not be approved (anticipated)
Estimate the number of weeks employees will be temporary laid-off, should Work-Sharing not be approved.
Box 31: Number of employees participating in Work-Sharing including any employees who were recently laid-off (must match the list of employees in Attachment A EMP5101)
Specify the number of core employees to be included in Work-Sharing unit. Include any employees who will be called back to work from a recent layoff.
Box 32: Are there other employees who will not be participating in Work-Sharing, but who perform the same job duties as those participating in the program
If there are employees who will not be included in Work-Sharing, but who have the same job duties as those who are included, please select Yes.
If Yes, specify the reason the employee(s) were not included in the Work-Sharing unit.
Box 33: Will any employee(s) with greater than 40% of shares/ownership of the business be included in the Work-Sharing unit?
Please select Yes, if there are employees included in a Work-Sharing unit who are also main company shareholders. If not, please select No.
Box 34: Does your business have any planned shutdowns? (maintenance shutdowns, year-end shutdown). Please note that planned shutdowns must not exceed 4 weeks.
Indicate whether there are any shutdowns planned for the business. If you select Yes, provide the dates (YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD) that you expect the shutdown(s) to begin and end.
Box 35: Approximately how many hours/days/shifts of work per week can you offer each employee while they participate in the Work-Sharing program
Provide approximated hours, days, and/or shifts of work that you will be able to offer each employee who is to participate in Work-Sharing.
Box 36: What is the percentage of reduction in work hours for employees per Work-Sharing unit (minimum of 10% and maximum of 60%)
Provide the estimated percentage of work reduction for employees per Work-Sharing unit for the duration of the agreement. The average reduction in business activity must be no less than 10% and no more than 60%.
For example, for a 40-hour workweek, a 10% reduction in hours represents half a day (4 hours) and 60% represents 3 days (24 hours).
The average reduction should be similar to the percentage of expected layoffs within your workforce.
For example:
- if an employer submits a request for a 40% reduction in the hours of work
- the employer must indicate there is a need to layoff around 40% of the workforce
Workforce is defined as total number of all employees who are working in the section(s)/division(s)/unit(s) of the company that are affected by the shortage of work. Including those employees not participating in Work-Sharing.
In any given week, the work reduction can vary depending on available work. The work reduction on average over the life of the agreement must be between 10% and 60%.
Part 4: Amendment – Box 37
Box 37: Describe the requested change to the agreement and the reason for the change. Please attach a revised Attachment A EMP5101 when changes such as additions, deletions or substitutions are being made to the Work-Sharing unit or employee/union representative (Please date each revision)
Describe the change you want to make to your current Work-Sharing agreement. If changes to the Work-Sharing unit (additions, deletions or substitutions), please attach a revised Attachment A EMP5101. Please provide the proposed date of the change for which you would like your amendment to be effective.
Amendment requests should be submitted at least 10 business days in advance of the change and should not be implemented until the employer receives confirmation of approval.
Part 5: Attestations
By checking this box, the employer attests that they have experienced a minimum 10% reduction in their business activities within the last 6 months to establish a need for the Work-Sharing Program. Supporting documentation (for example, sales/production figures) to demonstrate the 10% reduction in business activity must be provided upon request.
By submitting this application, the employer, employee representative and/or union representative confirm that they have read the below terms and understand, accept and will comply with all requirements as specified in the Employment Insurance Act, Employment Insurance Regulations and Work-Sharing program website.
The employer agrees to provide such documentation as may be required by the Canada Employment Insurance Commission, including copies of sales/production figures and payroll records, for the purpose of verifying the information provided on this form and to assess the application.
The employer, employee representative and/or union representative understand that all of their employees participating in Work-Sharing must experience a minimum 10% reduction in their normal weekly earnings.
The employer, employee representative and/or union representative hereby make application for approval by the Commission of their Work-Sharing project in accordance with section 24 of the Employment Insurance Act and sections 42 to 49 of the Employment Insurance Regulations but agree that the preparation and filing of this application does not create any obligation on the part of the employer/employer representative, employee representative and/or union representative or the Canada Employment Insurance Commission.
Subject to the terms of the Work-Sharing agreement, all information contained in this application provided by the employer/employer representative, employee representative and/or union representative will be treated as confidential in accordance with applicable legislation and used solely for the purpose of determining eligibility under the Work-Sharing initiative of the Work-Sharing project described in this application, and in support of research and statistical gathering activities.
It is understood that deliberately giving false or misleading information for the purpose of entering into a Work-Sharing agreement shall be subject to penalties as provided under the Employment Insurance Act.
The completed application package (forms EMP5100 and EMP5101) must be sent to the respective regional Work-Sharing unit including an email confirmation from each of the representatives (named below) agreeing to the content of the application and the terms and conditions of the program.
Instructions for completing the Work-Sharing unit Attachment A form EMP5101
The following provides instructions for employers completing the Work-Sharing unit Attachment A form EMP5101.
- Enter the business name of the employer
- Provide the address of the location of the Work-Sharing unit
- Please use a separate form for each Work-Sharing unit
- List employees on the Attachment A who will form the Work-Sharing unit :
- there must be a minimum of 2 employees in a Work-Sharing unit
- you may have more than 1 Work-Sharing unit
- do not include any employees on long-term leave or that you will recall later
- Provide employees occupation/job description
- Indicate employees hiring date YYYY-MM-DD format
- Include each employees normal weekly hours (NWH):
- NWH are determined based on the regular pattern of work for each individual (over the previous 2 years) prior to any reduction in work hours
- if hours vary from week to week, determine an average over the last 2 years to come up with the NWH for each employee
- employers must advise Service Canada of irregular work schedules. Service Canada will help to determine NWH when irregular work schedules exist
- Ensure that the employee or union representative name is included on the Attachment A
- The employee or union representative appointed by the employees or the union to act as their representative confirms that all employees in the Work-Sharing unit agree to participate in Work-Sharing
Submit both the Attachment A form and Application form within a minimum of 10 business days prior to the requested start date.
Note: If you do not have enough room on an Attachment A form, you may use as many copies of the form as required.
The Work-Sharing unit generally includes:
- all employees in a single job description, or
- all employees who perform similar work
However, you may have a Work-Sharing unit for:
- employees who have different job descriptions or do different work, but whose jobs affect one another
- employees in the same department, division, plant or operational unit of an employer
This applies only if all employees in the unit can reduce their hours equally. It is easier to ensure an equal reduction of work for employees that perform different job duties if they are divided into separate units.
For example, a group of machine operators and a group of shipper / receivers can only form part of the same Work-Sharing unit if both groups:
- share the available work, and
- reduce their hours equally (that is, same percentage reduction)
Individual employees in the same job description cannot volunteer to participate in Work-Sharing while others:
- decline to participate, and
- continue to work normal hours
Members of a Work-Sharing unit have to reduce their hours of work on an equal basis, including those who:
- do not qualify for Employment Insurance benefit, or
- choose not to accept Employment Insurance benefits (for personal reasons)
In the context of a unionized work environment, there must be:
- an equal reduction of hours, and
- sharing of all available work among members of a Work-Sharing unit regardless of any seniority clauses in a collective agreement
If, during the period of the Work-Sharing agreement, work activity increases, the extra hours of work must be shared equally among all members of the Work-Sharing unit.
You must ensure that the members of each Work-Sharing unit authorize an employee representative who will represent them in the agreement. In a unionized workplace, this representative may be a member of union designated by the union. Refer to employee/union representative for more information.
Submit the forms
Employers must submit the completed forms, Work-Sharing application form EMP5100 and the Work-Sharing unit Attachment A form EMP5101 a minimum of 10 business days prior to the requested start date.
Important information
For the form to work properly, you must first save it on your computer, and reopen it with a PDF reader like Adobe Reader or Foxit Reader to add information. Then resave once completed.
Employers can submit their completed forms by email to their Regional Work-Sharing Unit.
Service Canada will acknowledge in writing the receipt of the application.
Sending the application package
The application package (application form EMP5100 along with Attachment A EMP5101) must be sent by email to the appropriate region, with all representatives involved carbon copied (CC): employer representative, designated employee representative and union representative (if applicable). By sending the application package, all parties involved (employer, employer representative, and union and/or employee representative(s)) attest as per the following:
- subject to the terms of the Work-Sharing agreement. They accept that, all information contained in the application provided by the employer, the union(s) or employee representative(s) will be:
- treated as confidential in accordance with applicable legislation, and
- used solely for the purpose of deciding eligibility under the Work-Sharing Program of the project described in the application, and
- in support of research and stats gathering activities
- the employer, the union(s) or employee representative(s) apply for approval by the Commission of their Work-Sharing project in accordance with Section 24 of Employment Insurance Act and Sections 42 to 49 of the Employment Insurance Regulations. They agree that the preparation and filing of this application does not create any obligation on the part of:
- the employer
- the union(s)
- the employee representative(s), or
- the Canada Employment Insurance Commission
- they understand that deliberately giving false or misleading information for the purpose of entering into a Work-Sharing agreement shall be subject to penalties as provided under the Employment Insurance Act
In addition, the employer agrees to provide such documentation as may be required by the Canada Employment Insurance Commission. This includes copies of payroll records, for purposes of verifying the information provided in the application and monitoring activities.
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