What you need before you apply

In this section

• Roles and responsibilities of representatives
• Employer
• Employer representative
• Employee representative/union representative
• Work-Sharing unit

Roles and responsibilities of representatives

It is important for those representing the parties to the agreement (employer, employer representative, employee representative and, if applicable, union representative) understand their role.

Employer

The employer must designate an employer representative that has signing authority for the business. The employer applies for Work-Sharing by completing both the Application for a Work-Sharing Agreement EMP5100 form and the Work-Sharing Unit Attachment A EMP5101 form. The employer will ensure all representatives (employer, employee and, if applicable, union) attest and agree to submit the completed application package.

Employer representative

The employer must designate an employer representative that has signing authority for the business. The employer representative must not be part of the Work-Sharing unit due to their responsibilities related to the agreement.

Specific details regarding the employer obligations and responsibilities (employer representative as their designate) during the Work-Sharing agreement are explained in After you apply - If your agreement is approved.

Employee representative/union representative

The members of each Work-Sharing unit must authorize an employee who will represent them in the agreement. Normally, the employee representative will be a member of the Work-Sharing unit. In a unionized workplace, the authorized employee representative may be a member of, and designated by the union. The employee’s confirmation of the representative chosen must be retained and a copy sent to the employer.

The employee representative and, if applicable, union representative act as the delegate and voice for all employees in a Work-Sharing unit. The employee/union representative ensures that participating employees are given information about the Work-Sharing agreement and about Employment Insurance Work-Sharing benefits.

The employee/union representative responsibilities are as follow:

• works with the employer to apply to the Work-Sharing Program
• are responsible for employee needs and addressing any issues or concerns of the Work-Sharing participants to the employer
• ensures that the employees know what to expect when participating in a Work-Sharing agreement and their responsibilities to manage their own Employment Insurance benefit claim
• confirms that employee participants receive the appropriate “Applying for Employment Insurance Work-Sharing Benefits” document that includes the reference code valid for the week the employee starts participation in the Work-Sharing agreement
• ensures that information about the signed Work-Sharing agreement is available and accessible to employees participating in the agreement
• provides all employees participating with the Employee Annex
• agrees to what is stipulated in the Work-Sharing application, the Work-Sharing Unit Attachment A and the Work-Sharing agreement by signing the agreement and Attachment A, and
• agrees to any changes to the agreement before they are submitted to Service Canada

The employee representative and, if applicable, union representative must agree and approve the Work-Sharing application EMP5100 and the Work-Sharing Unit: Attachment A form EMP5101. Their attestation confirms that all employees agreed to:

• participate in Work-Sharing, and
• respect the terms and conditions of the program

Work-Sharing unit

The Work-Sharing unit 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.

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.