Record of Employment for Nannies: When and How to File

Your nanny tells you she is pregnant, or your family no longer needs full-time care over the summer, or she gives notice to take a new job. In every one of those situations, you likely owe her a Record of Employment (ROE), and Service Canada’s clock starts ticking the moment her pay stops.

Most Canadian household employers only hear about the ROE once, during onboarding, and then forget about it until the day they actually need to file one under pressure. By then the 5-day deadline is already running. This guide covers exactly when an ROE is required, how the deadline is calculated for paper versus electronic filing, and how to avoid the fines that come with filing late. If you have not yet confirmed your nanny is a formal employee with payroll obligations, start with our guide to nanny tax obligations in Canada.

What is a Record of Employment, and why does it matter?

A Record of Employment is the standard form, paper or electronic, that an employer completes whenever an employee stops working and has an interruption of earnings. Service Canada uses the ROE to decide whether a former or on-leave employee qualifies for Employment Insurance (EI) benefits and how much they can receive. For your nanny, it is often the single document that determines whether parental leave, a seasonal layoff, or a job change comes with any income support at all.

You must issue an ROE whenever an employee has an interruption of earnings, regardless of whether they intend to apply for EI, or whenever Service Canada requests one directly.

When does an interruption of earnings happen?

The trigger for most domestic employers is what Service Canada calls the “7-day rule”: an interruption of earnings occurs when your nanny is laid off or separated from the job and goes seven or more consecutive calendar days with no work performed and no insurable earnings payable from that job. Common examples for household employers include:

• Layoff or termination. Your family’s care needs end, you let your nanny go, or the contract is not renewed.
• Resignation. Your nanny gives notice and leaves for another position.
• Parental, maternity, sick, or compassionate care leave. A different rule applies here: the interruption begins once your nanny’s pay drops below 60% of her regular weekly earnings because of the leave, rather than waiting for a full seven-day gap.

A payroll-provider or software switch, or a temporary schedule change, is not an interruption of earnings while employment continues. You still need an ROE if the pay-period type changes. You also file when the job stops, or when pay drops below that 60% threshold for a qualifying leave.

The 5-day filing deadline, explained

This is the part most domestic employers get wrong, because the clock starts from different events depending on how you file.

If you file a paper ROE, you must issue it within 5 calendar days of either:

• the first day of the interruption of earnings, or
• the day you (the employer) become aware of the interruption.

If you file electronically through Service Canada’s ROE Web and you pay weekly, biweekly, or semi-monthly, you have up to 5 calendar days after the end of the pay period in which the interruption occurs.

If you pay monthly or on a 13 pay period (every 4 weeks) cycle, the electronic deadline is whichever date comes first:

• 5 calendar days after the end of the pay period containing the interruption, or
• 15 calendar days after the first day of the interruption.

In practice, most household employers run weekly or biweekly pay, so the electronic rule is the one that applies: count 5 calendar days from the end of the pay period that contains your nanny’s last day worked, and that is your filing deadline.

What happens if you miss the deadline?

Late or inaccurate ROEs are not a minor paperwork slip. Under section 137 of the Employment Insurance Act, failing to issue an accurate ROE on time can lead to a fine of up to $2,000, imprisonment of up to six months, or both. Beyond the statutory penalty, a delayed ROE can hold up your nanny’s EI claim at exactly the moment she needs income support, and courts have treated a late or incorrect ROE as a factor in bad-faith conduct when assessing damages in dismissal disputes. Filing on time protects both of you.

How to file an ROE for your nanny

1. Confirm the last day worked and the reason for the interruption. Service Canada’s reason codes (Appendix D) cover shortage of work, quit, dismissal, and leave-related codes, among others.
2. Finish any outstanding payroll. Approve pending shifts and expenses, and run a final pay through the last day worked, including any pay in lieu or vacation payout owed under your province’s employment standards.
3. Calculate insurable hours and earnings for the ROE’s required reporting periods, pulled from your payroll records.
4. Submit through ROE Web, your payroll provider’s secure transmission, or a paper form, within the deadline that applies to your pay cycle.
5. Give your nanny a copy if you are filing on paper. Employers who file electronically are generally not required to also hand over a paper copy.

In RoostPay, this workflow lives under End employment in Household management. RoostPay walks you through a guided checklist (pending shifts, pending expenses, outstanding final payroll, and profile or CRA gaps), then lets you download a Service Canada ROE Web draft extract once everything checks out. You still upload and submit that file yourself in ROE Web; RoostPay prepares and validates the data so you are not calculating insurable hours by hand under a 5-day countdown.

ROE and your other year-end obligations

An ROE is separate from, but related to, your other CRA obligations as a domestic employer. If your nanny’s employment ends partway through the year, you still owe her a T4 slip for the year’s earnings by the following February, using the same CPP, EI, and income tax totals that feed the ROE. For the full walkthrough of that filing, see our guide to filing a nanny’s T4 slip in Canada.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my nanny need a Record of Employment (ROE)?

Yes, if your nanny experiences an interruption of earnings, meaning seven or more consecutive calendar days with no work and no insurable earnings from you (for example, a layoff, resignation, dismissal, or the start of parental or sick leave). You must issue an ROE even if your nanny does not plan to apply for Employment Insurance, or whenever Service Canada requests one.

How many days do I have to file a Record of Employment?

If you file on paper, you have 5 calendar days from the first day of the interruption of earnings (or the day you become aware of it). If you file electronically through ROE Web and pay weekly, biweekly, or semi-monthly, you have 5 calendar days after the end of the pay period that contains the interruption. If you pay monthly or on a 13 pay period (every 4 weeks) cycle, the deadline is whichever is earlier: 5 calendar days after that pay period ends, or 15 calendar days after the interruption began.

What happens if I file an ROE late?

A late or inaccurate ROE can delay your nanny’s Employment Insurance claim and expose you, as the employer, to a fine of up to $2,000, imprisonment of up to six months, or both, under section 137 of the Employment Insurance Act. Courts have also treated a late or incorrect ROE as evidence of bad faith when assessing damages in dismissal disputes, so filing promptly protects you as well as your nanny.

Does switching nanny payroll providers mid-year trigger an ROE?

No. A payroll-provider or software switch is not an interruption of earnings and does not require an ROE while employment and the pay cycle continue. Issue an ROE if the pay-period type changes. If the new provider cannot cover the earlier period, the previous provider can issue an ROE up to the takeover date.

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A missed ROE deadline is one of the easiest compliance mistakes to make as a household employer, and one of the costliest to leave unresolved. Start your free 30-day trial and let RoostPay track your nanny’s hours, run compliant payroll, and prepare your Service Canada ROE Web file the moment her employment changes, so you are never racing a 5-day countdown with incomplete records.